KH 358 2 Days Night's Story
by Night-the-Dragon
Summary: Okay, this is KH 358/2 Days, but from the POV of Night, who, in this series, is the Nobody of Shadow. Also, just an FYI, no yaoi. Sorry, peeps! Also, credit for the original script goes to DJ Firewolf on GameFaqs, who is the one who copied down the script for people to use in the first place.
1. Who Are We? Why Are We Here?

A/N: All right, here's Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, all from the POV of Night! He's Shadow's Nobody in this. Now, I know Night's name doesn't have an "X" in it, but it makes sense to call him that, in my opinion. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I won nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 1

Who Are We…? Why Are We Here…?

We had met someone named Xemnas, who had taken us into something called Organization XIII, and we didn't know who they were, what they wanted, or how they had found us, but all we knew was that we had nowhere to go. Nowhere to be and no purpose in life…

Our names were given to us when we arrived in the Organization, and I was given the name Night, while my other half, or so we had thought at the time, was given the name Roxas. We were brought into the fold, as one of the members had said, even though we didn't know what that meant at the time. When we were introduced, it was someone named Axel who brought us into the room. Axel would become our friend, but not for a while. Maybe it had been there, and we hadn't felt it, or maybe not. We just didn't know. Roxas and I were close, though. More than just best friends, our bond was one that made us stronger and different from the other members. Roxas and I were dubbed as members 13 and 13½. Obviously I was the half, seeing as I was small. Roxas could use a weapon called the Keyblade, and we could both control light as we pleased, but we didn't know why. We would find out farther down the road. But our story begins on our fifth day of existence, when we were placed under Axel's care…

"Axel, you'll be taking Roxas and Night out for some training today," Saix ordered Axel, and he frowned.

"Man, I have to babysit? That's a bummer," Axel said with a grin. We didn't respond, just continued to look down. "Gonna say anything, chatterbox?" Axel teased, but again, we said nothing.

"Oh, and Lord Xemnas has summoned for us in the Round Room," Saix added, and left.

"Round…Room?" Roxas and I murmured. We didn't talk much, as we were still shy at the time.

"Yeah, the Round Room," Axel said. "You ready to go there and start the meeting?" We just nodded slowly without a word.

Once in our places in the Round Room, Xemnas got everyone's attention. "Everyone, we have a new member to join our ranks today, and they are Number XIV."

Roxas and I watched the new member, remembering when Axel had first brought us in. It was nerve wracking to be in Number XIV's place, and we could still remember the fear. But as Axel had called us, we acted like "zombies" to everyone, even him. We didn't behave like "zombies" to each other, though, or we would have each lost our sanity. Saix had brought in the new member, and whoever it was, we couldn't see their face because their hood was up, hiding it. It wasn't a problem, though. We didn't care either way. But for some odd reason, I could feel something react inside of Roxas, and I felt a reaction in me, too, but I couldn't tell what it was. Neither could Roxas, from the sound of it later after the meeting.

After the meeting, Axel found us and took us to the dark corridor we all use to travel back and forth between our castle and other worlds. We spied the new member as we were about to leave, and Axel caught us watching them.

"Oh, what was that name again, it was on the tip of my tongue…" Axel muttered as Saix came over.

"Number XIV, Xion," Saix said. Roxas and I looked at him.

"Right, that's it, Xion," Axel said. "Alright, you two, ready for some training?" We just nodded slowly and followed Axel through the dark corridor.

When we arrived, it was at the place that Roxas and I had been born and found in: Twilight Town. Upon arriving, Axel put us straight to work.

"All right guys, what you're going to do today is find an item chest," Axel told us. We looked at him, and nodded. We made our way through the underground path, which was where the dark corridor had brought us, and explored along the way. Once we found the chest, we looked to Axel for some guidance.

"Well, we found it," Roxas said quietly. "Now we're done, right?"

"Roxas and Night, that isn't all you do," Axel told us, shaking his head in disappointment. "You need to open it as well to find out what's in it." Roxas used his Keyblade to open the chest, and we got a healing item to help us later on.

"That's the ticket," Axel praised. "Now we RTC."

"RTC?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, Return to Castle," Axel explained. "Now let's go back to the dark corridor." When we got back to the corridor, Axel stopped us before we went through. "Way to go, guys. Now how hard was that?"

"We could've done that blind-folded," we mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Axe said, feigning deafness.

"We said…We could've done that blind-folded," we said, raising our voices.

"I don't think we need a couple of blind-folded zombies on the loose here," Axel said, laughing. "Hey, Roxas and Night, you both deserve a little icing on the cake."

"'Icing on the cake?' What do you mean?" we asked. He didn't say anything, just motioned for us to follow him. When we finally understood what he meant, we were on the top of the clock tower, eating ice cream. Roxas and I each took a bite from ours, and quickly withdrew from it in shock.

"It's salty, but sweet," I said. "But it's good, too."

"That's what you said last time, too," Axel laughed. "Do you guys remember what this flavor is called?"

"No, what?" Roxas asked.

"Sea-Salt Ice Cream," Axel told us. "Got it memorized?"

Roxas and I chuckled, and said, "Yeah."

"First laugh I've gotten out of you two! That's a new record!" Axel burst out laughing. "I remember the first time I brought you guys up here, too," he said, calming down. "It was your first day in the Organization, remember?"

"Not quite, but I think it's coming back," Roxas said. I thought back to that first day, before we even got our coats, and I only had a small jacket for me, but whatever. It was that first day that Axel had brought us up here, and we got to enjoy Sea-Salt Ice Cream that day, too. _Hopefully we can keep on doing this_, I thought towards Roxas, and he nodded while I balanced on his head. Axel watched us for a moment, and when the sun had finally set, he got up and stretched.

"Man, did the time fly. We'll definitely have to RTC now," Axel groaned as he stretched. I jumped off from Roxas's head and stretched all six of my limbs: my arms, legs, and wings. Roxas got up and stretched, too. And we all left back for the Castle That Never Was. That night, in our room, Roxas and I wrote in the journal we had been given by Saix, and he had told us to write in it to keep our sanity, so we had listened to his advice. As we wrote, we thought about Axel and how we could hopefully become closer, just like today, so we added that into the journal as well. After we finished, we closed our day's eventful writing and went to sleep.

A/N: Okay, I'm editing this and posting the original version I wrote back on DA, but I'll make the appropriate changes as needed. R&R, peeps!


	2. We're Nobodies? But What's Our Purpose?

A/N: Okay, chapter 2 is here! Sorry about the late update, folks. I'm having a hard time with motivation…Anyway, if you have any questions, just review and let me know, k? Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 2

We're…Nobodies? But What's Our Purpose?

We had been working hard on training, learning the ropes about the ins and outs of the Organization, and about Heartless, both shadow and emblem. We learned how to fight, how to use magic (thanks to Larxene, who was so rude to us it wasn't fun in the slightest), and how to analyze facts and things around us. We also learned how to use our powers, the Keyblade for Roxas, and light for me. It was one day that we had left with Marluxia to find a specific target to destroy that we learned who we really were. At the end of our day, before we RTC'd, we began a discussion on why Roxas and I were the only ones who could capture hearts for Kingdom Hearts.

"Marluxia, why is it only the Keyblade and light that can capture hearts?" Roxas and I asked him.

"Because the Heartless fear them. If they don't fear what can destroy them, then the hearts won't be captured," he explained.

"But why do we have these abilities, and nobody else does?" I asked.

"Because you're both special, that's why," he answered.

"How did we get them, though?" Roxas asked.

"We're all different, and that's because the Organization is made up of Nobodies," he explained.

"Nobodies? That's not very nice," we said.

"No, with a capital 'N'. It means we're exceptional," Marluxia told us. "When someone with a strong heart turns into a Heartless, then a Nobody is created. The Organization is made up of the most powerful Nobodies, and you two are no exception."

"Huh," was all we could manage. We then proceeded to RTC, and before Roxas and I went to bed, we wrote in our journal. We wrote about how we discovered we were Nobodies, and that we had come from someone else. We also added about how Marluxia had called us "special", and that we didn't get the Keyblade and light on our own. It was weird, knowing this new information, because it wasn't normal for us. Nothing would be normal thought, as we would soon discover during our time in Organization XIII.

The next day, Saix assigned us to Vexen, and he was to take us out to Twilight Town to teach us how to do reconnaissance. We departed through the dark corridor, and when we made it, Vexen put us straight to work in the Tram Common, having us learn how the residents lived here. Vexen gave us some harsh criticism, but we persevered through his harsh way of training us. We learned to study the area, analyze what we found, and make our own conclusions that made logical sense from it all. Vexen used a lot of these terms, and we found it was quite simple to understand him. Before, if it had just been our first training mission, then we would have been completely lost. Thank goodness for Axel, though. He had been a huge life saver for us; without him and his company, we would have lost out minds by now from the loneliness. Once we had finished our training for the day, Vexen called us over to RTC.

"Vexen, what's the purpose of Kingdom Hearts? And why are Roxas and I so special for it?" I asked him.

"Well, Kingdom Hearts is supposed to give us hearts, because Nobodies don't have a heart. You two are special because you're the only ones who can capture hearts for the Organization, and thus for Kingdom Hearts," he explained.

"But why are Nobodies without hearts?" Roxas asked.

"We are only the body that is left over after someone with a strong heart turns into a Heartless," Vexen replied. "So the Heartless take our hearts, and we are left as empty vessels, just wanting hearts."

"Oh." We couldn't think of anything else to ask, so Vexen led us through the dark corridor, and we left for home. Vexen had answered some of our questions for us, but we still had so many to ask. Who were we before we were Nobodies? What were they like? And most importantly, why couldn't we remember them?

We joined Axel on the top of the Clock Tower that evening, while the sun was setting. He was already sitting there, waiting for us with some ice cream.

"Hey, how'd training go for you today?" he asked mildly.

"Not bad. Vexen took us out to teach us how to perform recon," I told him, and he nodded.

"Axel, is there anything left of Heartless or Nobodies when they're…destroyed?" Roxas asked. I watched my other half, perplexed. I hadn't seen that question coming.

"Well, from the Heartless, the hearts go to Kingdom Hearts when you and Night get rid of them with your Keyblade and light," Axel answered. "But when something else fells them, they just reappear somewhere else. Nobodies, on the other hand, when destroyed are nothing. Nothing is left when a Nobody is gone, because there's nothing left to be there."

"Oh." Roxas looked surprised, and I didn't blame him; I was surprised, too. We looked at each other, and remembered when Axel had once told us what friends were. We nodded in mutual agreement.

"Axel, do you think we could be…friends?" we asked hesitantly. He looked at us in mild surprise, but laughed.

"Of course. I just hope you two don't become zombies again!" he said, laughing again. Roxas and I couldn't help but join in; Axel's laugh was hard to resist joining in with. He suddenly got up, early for the time, and stretched. "Well, sorry guys, but I have to go now. I'm being sent to Castle Oblivion with some other members."

We looked at him, confused. "Castle Oblivion?" I said, cocking my head to one side.

"Yeah, it's like our second castle," Axel explained. "It's something I can't talk much about, even though we're friends. It'd get me into some deep trouble."

"Hey, I thought we were all friends here!" Roxas laughed, and Axel and I joined in. My white striped part of my armor glittered in the setting sun, and we bid farewell to Axel as he left. Roxas and I finished our ice cream, and finally headed back to the castle as well, once the sun had set.

That night, Roxas and I wrote in our journal about how we learned from Vexen some more about Nobodies, and how Axel had told us what was left of us when we were gone, which was nothing. We couldn't forget about gaining Axel as a friend, of course, so we added that in there, too. Finally, we finished by putting in that one tidbit of information about Castle Oblivion. I wondered about it aloud, but quietly; Roxas was wondering the same thing, too.

"What do you think it's like?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Probably like here, just a bit different, though," he guessed. "Who knows? We might get a chance to go there someday."

"That would be great," I said, and we laughed a bit together. After that, we closed up our journal, and went to sleep.


	3. Number XIV, Xion, Can She Be Our Friend?

A/N: Okay, sorry for being so late, guys! I've been getting easily distracted by random stuff, like Facebook, my games, the cat, etc. Anyway, I hope this is a good chapter! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 3

Number XIV, Xion. But Can She Be Our Friend?

The day Axel departed, Roxas and I rushed down to try to find him before he could leave, but Saix informed us he wasn't there and that he had already left. The reason we had tried to catch him before he had left was so that we could ask him something. Before we had left for home from the Clock Tower yesterday, but after Axel had left, Roxas and I had noticed that Roxas had the word "Winner" written on his ice cream stick. We wanted to find out what it meant, but it was too late now. We tucked the stick back into Roxas's coat pocket, and proceeded to find out what our mission for the day was. We approached Saix and noticed Xion standing next to him.

"Roxas and Night, you will be taking Xion out for some training today, and you'll both be in charge," Saix ordered us. We looked at him in surprise; we had never been in charge before. "You'd best do well to teach Xion how to do the job right."

I gulped quietly with nervousness, and Roxas said, "All right, Xion, let's go." We led Xion through the dark corridor, and made it to Twilight Town. Our objective for the day was to take out some Emblem Heartless, and that was it. We found the targets, and I noticed that Xion had no weapon; they used magic instead. I couldn't tell if Xion was a boy or a girl, either, and I didn't share this with Roxas. I would let him make his own assumptions. We finished for the day, and before we RTC'd, Roxas told her, "Well, we've got plans, so you can head back on your own, right?" Xion nodded, and then left through the corridor. Roxas and I left for the Clock Tower, and ate some Sea-Salt Ice Cream by ourselves. Axel wasn't going to be back for a while, I guessed, so we could just enjoy some quiet. Once finished, the sun hadn't set yet, but we decided to go back home anyway. Once home and in our room, we wrote in our journal about working with Xion today, and how awkward it felt. Xion hadn't said a single word to us throughout the day, and it was just so…weird. _Well_, Roxas thought to me as we lay down to go to sleep, _hopefully tomorrow will be different…_

The next morning, we were again assigned to work with Xion, and the same pattern ensued while working on the mission. Xion didn't speak to us, and we didn't say much, nor did we really have anything to say. But before we RTC'd, Xion finally spoke to us.

"Roxas and…Night," Xion mumbled.

"What?" we said, turning around in surprise.

"That's your names, right? Roxas and Night?" Xion asked quietly. We nodded.

"Yeah, Xion, that's right," Roxas said, and he was smiling on the inside, and so was I. We left Xion after she had safely made it into the dark corridor for the Clock Tower. We enjoyed our ice cream, but it was starting to be strange. Axel wasn't with us anymore, at least for a while he wouldn't be, and Roxas and I were always together, so it wasn't the same without him. We finished our ice cream and left for home before the sun had even set. We didn't write anything in the journal that night, just went straight to sleep.

The next morning, we saw Xion and said, "Good morning, Xion." No reply.

"Is there something wrong?" Roxas asked Xion.

Xion hesitated, and finally murmured, "Good morning, Roxas and Night."

"You three, come here, now," Saix told us urgently. "There's a large Heartless target that needs to be taken care of, and it needs to be done now."

"All right, Saix, you can count on us!" I said, and he nodded. We departed for Twilight Town, and when we got there, Xion got our attention.

"Roxas, Night," Xion said. Suddenly, Xion lowered _her_ hood, and revealed her face to us. She was a girl! Roxas and I were almost speechless with shock. "Good luck today."

We swiftly recovered, and Roxas said, "Thanks. Good luck to you, too."

We all three searched for the target, and had so fight some shadow Heartless along the way. The more there were in an area, the closer we got. Finally, we got to the Train Station, which was the base of the Clock Tower. Once there, we walked a ways further when out of nowhere, our target appeared!

"What is _that_?!" Roxas gasped.

"Our target!" Xion said, and we tensed up for battle.

"You ready, Xion?" I demanded of her.

"Yeah, whenever you guys are!" she said, looking determined. We leapt into action, fighting the Darkside, as we would soon learn it was called, with all of our might. We continued to attack where we could, which was mainly the hands, and eventually it was weakened enough to deal the final blow. But before we could even do so, the Darkside smacked Roxas and me, knocking the Keyblade and me off to the side. Roxas was defenseless, and Xion didn't have a weapon; she only used magic. Suddenly, though, she grabbed the Keyblade from the ground and charged at the Darkside. She slashed through it, and it was destroyed. Roxas and I got to our feet, and walked over to her in shock.

"I didn't know that you could use the Keyblade," Roxas said.

"I…didn't know either," Xion admitted. "This is the first time."

"Well, you did so great today that you deserve a little icing on the cake," I said with a grin. She looked at us, confused, but just followed us to get some ice cream and we sat at the Clock Tower.

"So this is what you meant," she said, and took a bite. Roxas and I watched her reaction, and I chuckled when she looked at it in surprise. "It's salty, but sweet, too."

"Yeah, it's called Sea-Salt Ice Cream," Roxas told her. I could feel what he wanted to say, but he wasn't sure whether or not he should say it. I gave him a gentle shove to encourage him, and he said, "Xion, do you think we could be…friends?"

"Friends? Yeah, that would be great!" she said excitedly. I took a bite of my ice cream when she asked, "So, where were you guys found?"

"Roxas and I were found here, in Twilight Town," I answered. "Why?"

"Just curious. I was found in Castle Oblivion, but I don't remember how they found me," she said quietly.

"Well, Night and I don't remember much from when we were found, either," Roxas told her. "But as Axel says, we were like zombies those first several days."

Xion laughed at that. "Do you think…I could be friends with Axel, too?" she asked, watching us.

"Of course! It would be all four of us here to watch the sunset and eat ice cream every afternoon after our missions," we said. "Why do you ask about Axel?"

"Well, I've just noticed you three are…close. Like true friends," she murmured. "I just feel alone."

"Well, you're welcome to join us anytime you want," I said, and we all finished our ice cream right as the sun finished setting on the horizon. When we returned back to the castle, we left for our rooms, bidding each other a good night before we parted.

That night, before Roxas and I went to sleep, we wrote in our journal. We wrote about Xion, and how she had said her first words to us, probably, and how she had finally lowered her hood. She was about the same physical age as Roxas, and had black hair and blue eyes. We wrote about how she could use the Keyblade and light, and how she was so nice. We finally finished by putting in there, "We hope the four of us can be friends forever…" And with that, we went to sleep.


	4. Axel's Gone? What Happened!

A/N: I'm SOOOO sorry about this late as hell update! I've been busy with random crap, work, and…yeah. Sorry! Anyway, here's the next installment. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 4

Axel's…Gone…? What Happened?!

The next morning, Roxas and I left for the main room where we were assigned our missions. Roxas and I overheard some of the other members talking, though, so we went over to join in.

"Everyone's been eliminated, I heard," Xaldin said.

"Aw, man! That means more work I don't want to do!" Demyx complained.

"Well, look who's shown up," Xigbar said. "It's you two and me today, kiddos."

"Don't call us 'kiddos'," I growled at him. Xigbar was known to be cocky, but this was stupid. Roxas looked withdrawn, and I reached into his mind. I could feel true sadness from him, and I felt the same way about what happened to the others at Castle Oblivion. We looked at each other, and we knew that this meant Axel was gone from us. Everyone was gone. How could this happen? There was no time to think about it, though, because Xigbar began to head to the corridor. We went after him, and when we arrived, it was in a new world called Agrabah. Xigbar was there with us so we could perform recon around the area.

"Ready to go, kiddos?" he said. We didn't respond, just continued to look away. We were still thinking about the others from C.O. "Still thinking about them? Well, you'll both have plenty of time to do just that when we're done here," Xigbar said.

We nodded and sighed, and then continued with our recon. We discovered some interesting facts, such as there was an unusual amount of sandstorms here, and that possibly they were connected to the Heartless amount. Roxas and I continued to let our minds wander, and we were almost attacked by a Heartless due to it. Xigbar took it out, though.

"Right. We're done here, so let's RTC," Xigbar said, and we started to leave. Right as Roxas and I were about to leave, though, we felt a sharp pain in our minds, and collapsed as everything went black.

We awoke feeling so…strange. We were rested, but we'd had strange dreams of a boy in red and his dragon, and the boy looked like Roxas, while the dragon looked like me, only no white stripes, all black. We got up and began to leave, but not before noticing the seashells on the side of Roxas's pillow. We gathered them all up, and there were a bunch, too. Roxas and I decided to head for the Clock Tower to look for Xion. When we arrived, we saw Xion sitting there by herself.

"Xion," Roxas said, and she turned around in shock.

"Roxas, Night! Oh, I'm so glad you're both awake now!" she cried out. We sat down with her, and she gave us each an ice cream.

"What happened to us, Xion?" I asked her. She hesitated, and I said, "It's okay."

"Well…Saix told us you had passed out while in Agrabah and that you would take some time to wake up," she murmured. "I was so worried about you both…"

Roxas chuckled, and I joined in as well. "Well, at least we're awake now, so no need to worry," Roxas told her. She sighed with relief. "Why were there so many seashells on our bed, though, Xion?"

"I left them there, and I put one on your bed for each day that you were asleep," she told us. I took a bite out of my ice cream, and looked at her.

"How long were we asleep?" I asked.

"At least three weeks," she whispered. "I'm sorry, but I was just worried that you would never wake up."

"Well, no need to worry now, as you can see," we said, and the three of us laughed together. The sun set over the horizon, and we all got up to get ready to go home. It was the end of our day, but as Roxas and I went to our room, we thought about Axel, and how much we missed seeing him. It was hard, because we could feel…pain over the loss of our friend. At least we had Xion, but it just wasn't the same.

One morning, Roxas and I got up and left for the main room where we were assigned our missions. We were always paired up, and that was because of the close mental and friendly bonds we have. Roxas and I were assigned to Twilight Town again, and we realized it had been a few weeks since Axel had been gone; we missed him dearly, and there was no escaping the pain. We left as we usually did for the day's mission. Lately, though, whenever we would go up to the Clock Tower, Xion wasn't there. It was so weird, though; we hadn't even seen her before setting out on missions. It was like she had vanished. It was bad enough that we had lost Axel, but now Xion was missing, too. We left for the dark corridor, and started our mission. We thought about things as we went through with the mission. When we would eat our ice cream by ourselves at the top of the tower, we could only taste the salt, and no sweet. We had a lump in each of our throats that wouldn't go away because of our sadness, and it probably never would. We finished for the day, and began to head for the dark corridor, when Roxas and I clinched our fists with anger and sorrow.

"Why do we even bother anymore?" Roxas asked me quietly.

"We should just leave and never come back," I muttered, but suddenly a voice sounded from behind us.

"Hey, long time no see!"

We whipped around, and to our utter shock, it was Axel!

"Axel?!" I yelped. He walked over to us and laughed. Roxas was pale as a sheet.

"What's the matter with you two? You look like you've seen a ghost," Axel laughed.

"We thought that-everyone said that the members at Castle Oblivion were terminated," Roxas mumbled.

"Correction-almost everyone," Axel said. "Well, let's catch up!"

"Right, we'll go and get some ice cream!" Roxas said excitedly, and the two of us took off to buy some ice cream.

Once on the Clock Tower, we handed Axel his ice cream. Or rather, I snatched it from Roxas and gave it to Axel first before he could give it to him. Roxas gave me a small punch to the shoulder, and I laughed.

"Sounds like you two have been doing well," Axel remarked.

"Only because you're back now," I said.

"What happened there, anyway, Axel?" Roxas asked.

"Oh, it's a lot of hush-hush stuff. Can't tell, or I'll be in trouble," Axel teased. "But since you're both my friends, I guess I can tell you this: it was really just a bunch of traitors."

"Huh." I grinned at Axel, and Roxas did, too.

"Well, we're just glad you're back," Roxas told him, and I sighed with content. "Oh, and Night and I have been seeing Number XIV here every now and then."

"Xion?" Axel said, confused. I saw something in his eyes that I couldn't place my finger on, but I knew it wasn't something good. Maybe it was just me, though.

"Yeah, we were placed in charge of training her after you left," Roxas said. "She can use the Keyblade, too." Axel looked even more confused by that one, but he didn't say anything. He looked away when he noticed I was watching him, and continued to watch the sunset. We watched the sunset in comfortable silence for a while, and I got up and stretched my wings out, letting them feel the warmth from the sun. Finally, Roxas broke the silence.

"You know, we haven't even seen Xion lately, that's what's weird," Roxas told Axel.

"Hmm, I don't know anything about it, seeing as I left right as you three became friends," Axel replied. "However, I'll see if I can pick Saix's brain, and find out what I can for ya, deal?"

Roxas and I looked at him with hope in our eyes. "Really? Thanks Axel!" we said, and we all laughed together about things that made no sense to anyone watching, but they made sense to us, and that was what mattered.

After we returned home for the night, Roxas and I wrote in our journal about Axel's return and the promise he made to us regarding Xion. We also put in there that the lumps in our throats were gone, and that hollow feeling felt filled again. We even added about our hopefulness about the four of us all being friends and that we could be together, forever. Hopefully that would never change, and we would never change, either. Unfortunately, we would learn down the proverbial road that nothing stays the same, no matter what.


	5. Xion's Missing? But Why?

A/N: Starting to take this fic off from hiatus, so that's good! Once I do this one, it'll be time to edit KH2 from Shadow's POV by putting Kurai in and then I can write KH3D from Shadow and Kurai's alternating POV's. Awesome, right?! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 5

Xion's Missing, But Why? And Who're The Organization Imposters?

We got up the next morning and met up with Axel to find out if he had any information for us regarding Xion. As we approached, he gave us his casual grin, and we looked him hopefully.

"Well, did you find out anything about Xion, Axel?" Roxas asked when we were close enough. He gave us a sorrowful expression.

"Sorry, guys, but no dice. Saix's lips are sealed," Axel murmured. "I did my best, but he wasn't going to talk."

"Oh, okay. Thanks anyway, Axel," Roxas muttered, and we left to see Saix about our mission for the day.

As we walked away, however, I could've sworn I heard Axel say quietly, "Sorry guys. Just trying to protect you both…"

I was curious as to what he meant, but I didn't want to start anything right now, so I decided to keep it to myself. I also didn't want to ruin the friendship between us all, so there's another good reason.

We were to go to a new world today, and take out the target as part of Kingdom Hearts. We arrived in the new world, and it was called Beast's Castle. When we arrived, though, Roxas and I pondered about where we should start when we heard a _huge_ roar from the castle.

"What was _that_?" Roxas gasped, and looked to me for some guidance.

I shrugged and said, "I have no clue. Maybe it's our target? I can't recognize every sound, you know."

"I know that, but I guess we'll just have to find out," Roxas said, and we made our way to the castle. The giant door was the main way in, but it was locked. We went out to the courtyard, and I smacked a statue that was out of place back into its spot. When I did that, however, a secret door opened on the wall off to the side from the main door.

"All right, now there's a way in!" I said, and we quickly ran in. When inside, though, it led to the upper part of the room, and it looked like a hidden…attic, I guess you could call it. We had to fight some minor Heartless and pull a few levers, but we soon made it to a crack in the wall that could let us in through to the main floor. I squeezed through first, and hovered in the air as a second nature while I helped Roxas fit through. Once through, I caught him and carefully lowered myself to the floor. Upon touching the floor, we saw our target appear right before us. We were swift in taking it down, and I wiped my hands clean when we were done. Right as we were about to head for the door, though, we heard that same roar from before, only this time, it was much, much louder. I almost jumped to the ceiling from the suddenness of it. Roxas, on the other hand, only jumped a bit. Damn partial deafness in other beings. My hearing is so freaking sensitive that I can hear a pin drop in a noisy room. So compare that to a roar, and it hurts!

"OWWW!" I yelled, and Roxas grabbed me from the wall and pried me off. I had gripped the wall with fear, and I had to be helped off because I was literally…stuck. I hate it when I do that. Anyway, Roxas carefully pulled me off and we raised the bar that was keeping the main door from opening. I clung to Roxas's shoulder as we made our way to RTC.

"What was that, though?" Roxas wondered aloud as we walked to the dark corridor.

"I have no idea, and I'd rather not find out today," I said nervously. I was brave, but not stupid; there was no way we were gonna dare to try and investigate further. We returned home for the day, seeing as Axel wasn't at the Clock Tower. Once home, I curled up and fell asleep alongside Roxas in our bed. I could feel Roxas was awake, though, so I sat up like a dog and asked, "What's up?"

"It's nothing," Roxas told me.

"That's bull. Tell me, or I'll find out myself," I scoffed. When he hesitated, I added, "I don't want to Roxas, but I will."

"Alright, alright. I'm just worried about Xion," he admitted. "I just hope she's okay…"

"Don't worry about her," I assured him. "Trust me, if need be, Saix will send someone, hopefully us, to search for her. Just keep thinking like that, and hopefully it'll happen."

"Okay, I will," Roxas murmured, and he laid back down and fell asleep. Once I could feel his even breathing from his chest, I curled back up and fell asleep, too.

The next morning, Roxas seemed to feel lighter, at least mentally. That's what I felt when I woke up. I could tell he was trying to be optimistic, and that would help his mood for the day. We made our way out to the main room, and Axel was the one to greet us.

"Hey guys, you know how you've been wanting to find Xion?" he asked, smiling at us.

"Yeah…?" Roxas said, watching Axel with curiosity.

"Well, we get to go and search for her today," Axel told us.

"Are you serious?" Roxas gasped, stunned. I grinned at our friend.

"No, go back to bed, you're only dreaming," the redhead teased. "Yes I'm serious! Now let's get ready to find her!"

"Thanks, Axel!" I said happily. We quickly prepped for the mission, and left through the dark corridor. We ended up in Twilight Town, where Axel informed us about what had happened to Xion.

"All right, the last time she was at the castle, she was assigned a mission to take out a large Heartless," Axel told us. "Unfortunately, she hasn't been seen since. I bet if we find that Heartless, then we'll find Xion."

"All right, then let's get to it!" I said, ready and raring to go. I was pumped to find Xion and take out the Heartless that she had been tracking. We left for the Sandlot, and spied two of the residents talking. I focused my hearing, and we all listened in carefully on their conversation.

"…heard some weird noise," the girl told the guy she was with.

"And you heard it where again?" the guy asked skeptically.

"In the tunnel! It was some weird moaning noise," the girl told him.

"Did you look and see what it was?" he asked.

"No way! I got out of there as fast as I could!" the girl said in a panic. I dulled my senses slightly so I wouldn't hear the pair anymore.

"What do you make of that?" I asked Axel and Roxas. They pondered it for a moment.

"Well, it sounds like there's something down in the underground pathway, and it's moaning," Axel murmured. "It could be the Heartless."

"Or it could be Xion, injured, too weak to do anything," Roxas said worriedly.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Roxas," I told him. "Who knows; it could be nothing at all."

"Well, let's go and find out before we make any decisions," Axel told us, and he led the way to the tunnels. We traveled through, fighting random Heartless until we got to the part of the tunnel that the girl had spoken of earlier. We noticed a young teenager in the room, and went up to question him. He turned and noticed us, and he waved casually.

"Hi, did you lose something?" he asked. He was just a teen, and was dressed in red clothes and had brown hair.

"Well, you can say that," Roxas told him.

"Have you heard about the moaning in this tunnel?" Axel asked, getting straight to the point.

"Oh, that? That's just that vent up there," the boy told us. "My name's Pence, by the way. What's yours?"

"I'm Night, and this is Roxas and Axel," I informed him, and we looked up at the vent, which was making a slight moaning sound when wind passed through it. "So, it wasn't what we thought after all."

"Well, whatever it is, I hope you find what you're looking for," Pence said.

"Someone, not something," Roxas corrected. "She's our friend."

"Oh, sorry," Pence said.

"That's okay, we'll just keep looking," Axel said. We left the room, and departed back to the Sandlot. We spotted those same two teens from before, and listened in on their conversation again. This time, it was a different one.

"You know, Pence has been acting really weird lately," the girl told her friend.

"Weird how?" the guy asked.

"Well, the other day at the Usual Spot, I walked in and saw him acting suspiciously in the corner, and when I said something to him, he jumped like I had scared him pretty bad," the girl said. "I didn't check and see what he had been doing, but I'm just thinking it was some weird behavior."

"Huh…" was all I heard, and I tuned back out.

"Well, it sounds like our friend from the tunnels has some answers for our questions," Axel said. "Let's check out their 'Usual Spot' and see what that girl was talking about."

We went to the teens' Usual Spot, and checked out different areas in there. I sniffed around in the corners, and found a map with some writing on it. I gently pulled it out with my teeth, and laid it out on an oil drum.

"Hey guys, check this out," I said, calling them over. They looked at the map with me, and we read the writing on there.

"'Spooky Stairs, Doppelganger in the Wall'? What is this?" Roxas wondered aloud.

"Hey, check out this one: 'Moaning Tunnel'. It looks like Pence may be hiding something from others," Axel said. "Let's go and ask him about this stuff." We made our way back down to the same room as before, and began to talk to Pence.

"Hey, did you guys find your friend yet?" Pence asked.

"No, not yet. In fact, we have a few questions for you," Axel said. "Have you heard of the 'Spooky Stairs'?"

"Oh, you mean the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town?" Pence said. "So you three follow that stuff, too?"

"Yeah," Axel said. "What do you know about them?"

"Well, I've noticed that all of them have a common theme," Pence told us. "They're all just a pack of lies, and nothing more."

"Oh," I said, looking down disappointedly.

"However, there is an eighth wonder, in case you didn't know," Pence said, and he got our attention then.

"What is it?" Roxas asked eagerly.

"Well, it's in the forest. People think they're being watched, but there's nothing there. And sometimes the trees shake wildly as though something's up there, but no one can see anything," Pence informed us. "I hope that helps, you guys."

"It's actually something we'll have to check out, right Roxas and Night?" Axel said. He began to lead us away, and we quickly left for the forest. We spoke while we ran, and began to theorize.

"So, Xion must've been looking for her target near the mansion, but no wonder she couldn't find it; it must be invisible!" Axel said as we ran through the town.

"Yeah, and hopefully we'll find Xion if we find the target," I said. After we made it to the forest, we investigated every tree in the area. Nothing was revealed. Finally, out of frustration, I kicked a random tree, and the whole forest shook like crazy. I heard something hiss, and saw something like a shadow dart through the tops of the trees.

"It's headed for the mansion! After it!" Axel ordered. We chased after it, and caught up to it at the gate of the mansion. We had it cornered, but it was ready for a fight; so was I.

"You guys ready?! 'Cause this is no time to daydream!" Axel yelled, and we leapt into battle. I snarled and slashed at the Heartless, and it tried to swat me off. I clung on for dear life in response, and continued to dig my claws in deeper. Out of the brush, though, came Xion, and she was headed right for it.

"Xion?!" Roxas gasped.

"Huh?" she said, pausing, but she had let her guard down, and the Heartless struck, knocking her unconscious.

"Roxas, focus!" Axel snapped at him. "This is no time to be distracted!" Roxas quickly summoned his Keyblade, and he leapt back into the fray. We continued to attack the giant lizard, and after a while of fighting, Roxas and I finished it off with a combination of light and the Keyblade. After it was destroyed, Roxas and I quickly rushed to Xion's aid.

"Xion, are you okay?" Roxas demanded of her, and she came to.

"Roxas, Night, Axel, what are you doing here?" she asked in confusion.

"We were looking for you," Axel told her. She looked away, seeming upset.

"What's wrong, Xion?" I asked.

"This isn't the place to talk, so let's go to our spot," Axel said hurriedly. "We can talk there."

A/N: How's this one turning out so far? R&R, peeps!


	6. Xion's Confession But We'll Help!

A/N: Chapter 6, here I come! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 6

Xion's Confession. But We'll Help!

We were all sitting at the top of the clock tower to talk when Axel finally returned with some ice cream for each of us. He gave one to each of us, and we began to talk.

"Xion, you were saying earlier that you had a confession. What's wrong?" Roxas asked.

She continued to look down, then finally whispered, "I can't use the Keyblade anymore."

"What? Why not?" I asked.

"I don't know. Whenever I try to summon it, nothing appears, look," she told us, and held out her hand as if to summon the Keyblade, but like she said, nothing appeared. There was some light, but nothing else. She looked down miserably. "They'll turn me into a Dusk if they find out. I destroy them in one place only for them to crop up in another."

"Well, I'm sure we can think of something to help you get it back," Roxas said determinedly. He looked at Axel and me and added, "Right guys?"

"Of course! That's what friends are for!" I said enthusiastically. Axel, however, looked like he was concentrating, and I watched him wordlessly.

Finally, he looked up and exclaimed, "That's it!"

"What is?" Roxas and Xion asked.

"You three can work on missions together and maybe that'll jog Xion's memory into being able to use the Keyblade again!" Axel said, looking excited. "I'll just have to talk to Saix about it if he gives any of you any kind of grief over it."

"Really? Thanks Axel!" I said, and I flashed him a grin. He just laughed in return.

"It's no problem. Like Night said before, that's what friends are for," Axel replied. I sighed happily, knowing that we could all put our heads together and help Xion. We all continued to watch the sunset, eating our ice cream and laughing together like we had been friends for years. That night, in our room, Roxas and I wrote in our journal about how we had found Xion, her not being able to use the Keyblade anymore, and how we had promised to help her get it back. We finished writing, and fell asleep.

We woke up the next morning, ready for our missions with Xion, and hurried off to the main room to find her. Once we found her, we walked over to Saix to ask him about working on missions together. We asked him, and he looked almost livid.

"You want to work together when we're already short-handed as is?" Saix demanded of us. "Why should I allow it?"

"Hey, I don't see why not," Axel said, approaching us. "Put two half-pints together and you get a whole. Night just makes it even better." Saix thought about it for a moment, and then looked at us.

"Fine. But any wrong moves and you'll be separated from each other, so I'll be expecting twice the work from you three," Saix warned us. We quickly left for the dark corridor, and departed for the world our mission took place in. We arrived in Agrabah, and began our mission. It was to perform recon today, and explore to find anything suspicious. We began our search, and didn't find anything in particular until we got to the area where a secret entrance was. Axel, Roxas, and I had discovered the hidden entrance led to a cave a while back, before we had found Xion. It led to a place called the Cave of Wonders, but before we even went over to the secret entrance, we found a small green gem lying on the ground by a building. Xion picked it up and examined it.

"This is really pretty, so I think I'll hold on to it," she said, and placed it in her pocket. We continued to the Cave of Wonders, and we got there in time to see a sneaky character making his way through. We ran after him, but once inside, he was gone.

"Huh, I wonder where he went," I said. We made our way up to a platform where we found a spot for that gem that Xion had pocketed earlier. She placed it in, and the door for the next area opened. I led the way through, and we had to solve a few puzzles to get further, but eventually we got to a room where it was a dead end.

"Dead end," Roxas commented.

"Yeah," Xion agreed. "Well, let's get back before Saix-"

"What are you bozos doing here?!" a voice demanded, and we whipped around in shock to see that same sneaky character from before standing right before us. I let a snarl rip loose from my chest, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Who are you?!" Roxas demanded, and the guy laughed.

"Pete's my name, and conquering worlds in my game," he laughed, and he began to attack us. We swiftly dodged the bomb ball he rolled at us, and leapt into action. I charged at him, smashing into his large chest. Roxas and Xion were quick to take advantage of his momentary daze, and they used a combination of magic and the Keyblade to take Pete down. He cried out with pain, and he began to turn and run.

"You'll pay for this!" he yelled as he ran away. Suddenly, the whole place started to rumble, and rocks fell from the ceiling of the cave. I looked at my friends.

"We need to get out, and fast! The whole cave is about to collapse!" I yelled, and we made a quick exit. Once outside the Cave of Wonders, we looked at each other and sighed with relief. "That was a bit too close for comfort," I panted, the adrenaline still coursing through me.

"Well, the important part here is that we made it out safe, and took out some Heartless while in there," Roxas said. "It's true we didn't get much information while doing recon today, but at least we're safe."

"True," Xion said. "Well, since we're done here, why don't we meet up with Axel at the Clock Tower?"

"Yeah, let's do that," I said. We left via a dark corridor and made our way to the Clock Tower, and joined up with Axel, who was already there. When he noticed us, his usual casual grin flashed across his face.

"Hey, how'd the first day go, guys?" he asked.

"Well, Roxas and Night were great," Xion said. "They took out most of the Heartless, and we did our recon mission as instructed."

"Great job, guys," Axel praised. "Roxas, Night, do you still think the two of you can pull double duty?"

"Of course!" I said, puffing out my chest. They all laughed at my antics, and I joined in with them. This was what our lives should be; happy and carefree, just laughing together as friends.

"Anyway, Axel, that was a nice way to pull the wool over Saix's eyes," Roxas said, and we all paused to look at Axel.

"Who, me? Well, it isn't easy, but Saix can't be fooled forever," Axel said. "He's perceptive, even if it doesn't seem like it." We all stopped to think about that, and I remembered how Saix would sometimes refer to Xion as an "it". I didn't understand that, and I knew that Roxas noticed it, because he would feel fired up a bit from the comment. Roxas and I shared a certain resentment for Saix, one that wouldn't fade over time, and would end up becoming more powerful.

Roxas snapped me out of my thoughts, and said, "Well, I know that we'll get Xion to be able to use her Keyblade again, no worries."

"Thanks again, guys," Xion murmured, and we continued to eat our ice cream, finishing the day with laughter. We left for home, and Roxas and I quickly jotted down the day's events in our journal and then went to sleep.

The next day, Xion, Roxas, and I were assigned to perform recon in Beast's Castle. Upon arriving, we were in the top hidden room above the main floor. Xion looked at us.

"Where do you suppose we should start, guys?" she asked.

"Well, we're not sure. Last time we were here we heard—never mind," Roxas said. Xion looked at him, confused.

"What did you hear?" Xion asked.

"Well, it was like some kind of roar," I told her. "We thought it was our target last time, but after we destroyed it, we heard the roar again, and it was from deeper in the castle."

"Oh, well, I'm sure we'll find out what it was today," Xion said. "Shall we?"

We left the upper level in the main room to go down to the courtyard. We investigated around there first, but the only things that caught our attention were some large footprints and claw marks. We left back for the castle after investigating the courtyard, and saw more claw marks on the walls in the castle.

"More claw marks," I remarked, and Roxas studied them curiously.

"Maybe it's just some rowdy Heartless," Xion guessed. I thought about it, but shook my head slightly to Roxas. I knew this wasn't Heartless. Besides, it didn't smell like them. We continued on through the castle, and saw a walking, talking candelabra. My jaw felt like it almost hit the floor, I was so stunned. We quickly pulled back so it wouldn't see us, and began to whisper.

"How is that _possible_?" I whispered first, still shocked by it. I'd never seen anything like that.

"I have no idea," Roxas said quietly. "But we have to sneak past it somehow."

"How are we going to do that?" Xion whispered back.

I pondered it for a moment, and then suggested, "We'll stay out of its line of sight. It shouldn't take any notice of us."

"Good idea. Let's go for it," Roxas agreed. Xion nodded, and we quickly darted past, hiding here and there behind things, and made it past the living candelabra. Once we passed it, we made our way to the next hallway, where there was a door at the very end. The three of us made our way over, walking very quietly in case someone or something was in there. The door was open just a crack, and Roxas and I peeked in and what we saw next almost made me screech in dismay. I had to stifle a shriek, and I trembled with fear that we might get caught by the creature in the room. Roxas and I saw a large beast in the room, and he was pacing back and forth, looking very agitated. We tuned in on what he was saying.

"…Heartless everywhere, and Belle won't join me for dinner," he was saying. "This is MY castle! I've been fighting them off, and for what?"

Roxas and I ducked out of the room, and quietly spoke to Xion about what we had seen. She didn't believe us, so she peeped in, too. She quickly withdrew from the door, and looked at us with wide eyes.

"You were right," she whispered to us. "But who's Belle?"

"We can't tell, and we probably won't find out until later on," I murmured. "What we do know is that he's the castle's master."

"What?" Xion gasped. "But how can you tell?"

"Well, he did call this place 'his castle'. That, and this place is called Beast's Castle," Roxas explained. "It just makes sense."

"Oh, okay. Well, I think we've gotten enough information for Saix in our report now," Xion said.

"One more thing," I said as we walked away. "It sounds like he's fighting the Heartless for the servants here in the castle, even though they're now just household objects."

"Huh," Xion commented.

"And another thing," Roxas added. "It's like the opposite of our castle."

"What do you mean?" Xion asked.

"Well, think about it," Roxas explained. "Xemnas is our leader, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"But if you think about it, we fight for him, while this beast fights for his servants."

"Oh, okay. But I wouldn't really call us his 'servants', though."

"Yeah, you got a point there," I laughed as we began to head out for the Clock Tower. We met up with Axel, and he was waiting for us with some ice cream.

"So, you three, how was the day's mission?" he asked.

I took a bite of my ice cream and said, "Roxas and Xion did a lot of the work today, and I let them figure things out on this recon."

"Hah! So you let them figure it out, and they did?" Axel guessed.

"Yeah, I had a vague idea, but they affirmed it towards the end," I laughed. Roxas looked at me and rolled his eyes with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, we did it, but it wasn't too bad," Roxas said. "Xion helped a lot with the Heartless, though."

Xion blushed and said, "Well, Night's the one who did a lot of the screaming, though."

It was my turn to be upset, and I got a bit defensive. "I only did because I was shocked, that's all!"

"Whatever, Night," Axel laughed, and we all joined in, laughing together. Once our laughter had died down, we all sat in comfortable silence, just eating our ice cream.

Roxas and I were the first to break the silence. "Do you think we'll always be friends like this?" we asked.

"Of course!" Xion was quick to say. "I enjoy being with you guys, and I'm sure you do, too."

"Of course we do," Axel said. "It wouldn't be the same if any of us were missing."

"That goes without saying," I said. I finished my ice cream, and curled up in Roxas's lap, letting the warmth of the afternoon sun fill me, and I sighed with content. We soon finished our ice cream, and left for home for the night. Roxas and I fell straight to sleep when we got to our room, and slept well, with the exception of those dang dreams. I haven't mentioned them in a while, but that boy in red and his black dragon were in each of those dreams. We've even been starting to have them while awake sometimes, too. It's just so strange. I remember the voice we heard that had brought us out of that slumber when we had passed out; it sounded like Xion, too. The voice had said, "I thought I would find you sleeping down here." We hadn't heard anything like that since, but it was just so strange.

The next few days passed quickly, but even for all of our efforts, Xion still hadn't been able to summon the Keyblade. A few days later, we left for the main room and greeted Xion like usual, but Saix came straight over to us.

"I have two missions that require you to separate today," he said coldly. The three of us looked at each other in dismay, and Xion almost said something in protest, but she stopped herself.

"I can take care of one," Axel volunteered as he approached. Saix glared at him.

"You can't collect hearts, though," he snapped.

"Well, I can at least keep it busy," the redhead said. "I'm a big boy."

Saix thought for a moment, and finally said, "Fine. But starting tomorrow, you, Roxas and Night, will separate from Xion. No more group missions like these anymore unless required."

"Yes, Saix," Roxas, Xion, and I mumbled. We quickly left for the dark corridor, and I flashed Axel a look of thanks before we vanished. We were at Beast's Castle again.

"Roxas, how am I going to learn to summon the Keyblade if we're separated?" Xion whimpered in a panic.

Roxas thought about it, and I groaned and slapped my forehead when I realized what he was about to do. He summoned the Keyblade, handed it to Xion and said, "Here, you can borrow mine until you figure it out."

"But Roxas, what're you going to use…?" she asked, and Roxas looked about and picked up a stick. "Roxas, that's just a stick."

"Well, it's better than nothing, right?" Roxas told her.

She shrugged and said, "All right, if you say so…" And with that, we left to search for our target. We searched everywhere it for it, it seemed. Finally, I got the idea to look in the ballroom. We agreed to look there, so we did. Roxas's stupid stick that he was using as a weapon was horrible. It hardly did any damage as we fought, so I would have to take over for him, or he would have to use his magic. Once in the ballroom, we found our target. We used our strength and magic to dispose of it, letting Xion get the last blow in. Once it was gone, Xion handed Roxas back his Keyblade.

"Here you go, Roxas," she murmured.

"Can you remember how to use it now, Xion?" Roxas asked her. She focused, and tried to summon her own Keyblade. Suddenly there was a flash from her hand, and she had summoned her own Keyblade! She looked at it, stunned.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, Roxas and Night!" Xion cried out with delight. She was so excited, and I couldn't blame her. For Roxas, he had never been excited about his Keyblade, but that was because summoning his was like second nature to him. We quickly left for the Clock Tower, seeing as our mission was done, and met up with Axel. He looked at us when we got there.

"Well? How'd it go today?" he asked once we sat down.

"Ta-da!" Xion said, and summoned her Keyblade. "And it's all thanks to you guys."

"Well, it was no problem at all," Axel said. We all sat and talked happily about the day's events, and laughed whenever something funny came up in our conversation. Axel shared with us how he had tracked the other Heartless we were supposed to get rid of, and told us it was pretty big. Xion, Roxas, and I shared about how Roxas had used a random stick lying on the ground as a weapon, and we all laughed about it. We were truly enjoying ourselves. Eventually, though, the sun decided to set, and that meant it was time to go home.

Once in our room, Roxas and I wrote about Xion finally learning how to summon her Keyblade, and how Roxas had made do with a stick for a weapon. Finally we were tired enough to go to sleep, so we closed the journal and fell asleep. Xion would be okay now, seeing as she didn't need us to help her with the Keyblade anymore. It was a good feeling, and even though Nobodies don't have hearts and can't feel anything, we felt truly happy about our situation. At least until we started to dream about that boy in red and his dragon again, that is.

A/N: 3 updates in one day, and now on to post the fourth update! Enjoy~


	7. Another Day But What Did Xigbar Call Us?

A/N: Now for update numero 4! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 7

Another Day…Wait, What Did Xigbar Call Us?

It was another finished day of heart collecting for Roxas and me, and we were in bed when we saw that boy in red and his dragon in our dreams again. It wasn't unusual for us now; in fact, if they didn't appear in our dreams, then that was unusual. We sat up, and while Roxas yawned, I stretched my body like a cat, and shook vigorously to shake off the sleep. We got up, and left for the main room. We were assigned to Agrabah for today, and apparently there was a large Heartless there that we had to take down. We departed for Agrabah, and when there, we were watching someone who was talking to a girl that looked like a princess, and had just left to go find the Heartless when something caught my attention. I turned slightly to see what it was, and I almost jumped out of my armor.  
"WAAHH!" I yelled, and almost fell off of Roxas's shoulder. Roxas quickly bolted from the scene, holding me on his shoulder.  
"What the heck was that?!" he snapped at me. "You almost blew our cover!"  
"I…saw something weird," I said. "It just shocked me, that's all." Suddenly, the same thing from before appeared behind Roxas, and I pointed behind him. He looked, and almost was as shocked as I was. It was a genie, like from a lamp.  
"Who are you?" I asked.  
"Genie's my name, and I've been watching you two," he said loudly. "And don't worry, they can't hear us. They're both my friends, but I've just been worried, so I came back to see how things were going."  
"Huh, so Genie, who are they?" Roxas asked.  
"Oh, Al and I are close, even when we're far apart," Genie told us. "I'm just worried about all of the sandstorms, lately, but I'm sure you two can handle it!" And with that, he left.  
"Well, at least we know that maybe our Heartless target is probably the source of the sandstorms," I assumed. Roxas nodded in agreement. We departed for the desert, where the latest sandstorm was raging. When we got out to the desert, Roxas and I spotted our possible target. It was huge, but we knew we had to take it out. It was diving in and out of the sand like it was water.  
"Here we go, Night!" Roxas warned me, and we launched ourselves into battle. We ran after it as it swam through the sand, but it was going too fast. As it swam, I finally launched myself into the air to chase after it, and quickly caught up to it. I helped Roxas to catch up, and we quickly attacked the Antlion, which was what it was called. After a while of our attacks and slashes, it launched itself into the air and levitated in the air while vertical. We quickly deflected its bombs that it would launch, and they flew back and hit it, exploding upon impact. We tried to attack the Antlion while it was in the air, but it blew us back spinning. We flew back, and quickly used an aerial recovery, flying back at to counterattack. We smashed it with the Keyblade and my claws, and it collapsed from the blow. Finally, we dealt the final death blow, and it burst into darkness, releasing a giant heart which floated away into the sky. We walked back into the town, and saw Genie's friend and the girl from before having a conversation. We quickly hid nearby and began to eavesdrop on them.  
"The sandstorm's gone now, and we can relax," the girl said.  
"Yeah, it's just so strange, though, that it stopped so suddenly," the guy said. "But you're right, it's good now, and we can finish the repairs to the city."  
"Thanks, guys, I knew you could do it!" Genie said from behind us. We gasped and whirled around in shock when he spoke.  
"Um, no problem," Roxas told him.  
"Well, I'll be going now, seeing as things look good here," Genie said, and he vanished. Roxas and I left to RTC, but decided to go to the Clock Tower instead. Once there, we met up with Axel and Xion, who were already there, waiting for us. They greeted us as we approached.  
"Hey, you two, how'd it go today?" Axel asked.  
"It went fine, but we met someone who told us something interesting today," Roxas told them.  
"Yeah? What was that?" Xion asked.  
"Well, someone in the world our mission took place in told us that he was friends with someone, no matter how far they are apart," I explained. "How does that work?"  
Axel was the one who had the answer, seeing as he knew the most. That and we all looked at him expectantly. "Well…sometimes friends have such close bonds that they never feel like they lost their friend," he tried to explain. "It's almost like with us when we go on missions, only for them, it's more like a longer period of time." We each took a moment to process it, and then nodded in understanding.  
"Do you think that will ever happen to us? You know, being apart for a long time," Xion wondered aloud.  
"I highly doubt that," I said. "But you never know."  
"Right," Roxas agreed. "Because like Axel said, we'll still feel together, even without being physically there."  
We all smiled at this, and then continued to chat until the sun had set, at which time we left for home. Roxas and I wrote about what Genie had told us today in our journal, and how Axel had explained it. After finishing our entry, we stretched and yawned; feeling exhausted, we fell asleep.

The next few days passed like normal, whatever you want to call normal, anyway, and Roxas and I were, for once, enjoying our work. The only one who really soured our moods was Saix, and we only see him before we leave for missions. We left for the main room as usual, and discovered that we were being paired with Xigbar for the day's mission.  
"Come one, tigers, let's move it or lose it," Xigbar said cockily. I growled in response. Xigbar was an upper ranking member of the Organization, but that didn't stop us from losing our tempers with him.  
"Don't call us 'tigers'," Roxas snapped at him, and we left for a new world to perform recon. It was called Olympus Coliseum, and it certainly looked like a place to battle, all right. We had to fight some Heartless almost as soon as arriving, but once they were gone we began our recon.  
"Xigbar, what's so special about the Organization?" Roxas asked suddenly, and I looked at my friend, surprised; I hadn't expected he would ask that.  
"What's special about the Organization, Roxas and Night, is that normally Nobodies are created with no memories of their old lives, whereas the Organization members remember their pasts," he told us. "But you two plus Xion are special, to a certain sense of the word."  
_Whaaaat?_ I thought in shock, because Xigbar didn't give out compliments lightly. I looked to Roxas for some help here, but he didn't say anything, or even look at me. I gently reached into his mind, and saw him thinking about the buy in red and his dragon. The thoughts actually seemed more like memories, but whose were they? They didn't belong to us. Xigbar snapped us out of our thoughts, and we continued with the day's recon mission. We finished, and called it a day by hanging at the Clock Tower. We joined Axel and Xion as usual, and began our conversation.  
"Well, it's official," I said, and Axel and Xion looked at me, confused. "Xigbar's lost his mind."  
"What're you going on about?" Axel asked.  
"I mean that Xigbar actually complimented us today," I told them. "He called us and Xion special."  
"He probably meant about your light and their Keyblades," Axel scoffed.  
"No, he didn't say anything about those," Roxas told him. "We were actually talking about what makes the Organization special, and he told us that the members are special because they can remember their pasts."  
"Well, yeah," Axel said, rubbing the back of his head. "We all can, and Xigbar's right; that makes us special."  
"Well, Night and I can't remember our pasts," Roxas informed him.  
"Neither can I," Xion chimed in. "I don't remember a thing about my old self."  
"Hey, maybe that's what makes you three special, then," Axel replied. "The fact that you can't remember your pasts."  
"I wonder what we were like before we became Nobodies," Roxas and I said in unison.  
"Same here," Xion murmured.  
"Hey, Axel, what kind of person were you before?" Roxas asked.  
"I was just like anyone else, I guess, just a normal guy," Axel said, rubbing the back of his head again; he looked uncomfortable, so I tried to change the subject.  
"I wonder what the mission tomorrow will be," I said. "Probably something boring." We began a chat about our most boring missions, and continued to talk until the sun had set. We set off for home, where Roxas and I wrote in our journal. We wrote about how we didn't remember our pasts, and how Xion didn't either. We even added Xigbar's comment in there, but jotted down that maybe by special, he meant crazy. We fell asleep that night to the memories of the boy in red and his dragon, just as usual.

A/N: Stupid copy/paste thing from DA…It's not coming out how I want it, and when I try to justify it and indent it, it doesn't look right…Ah well, what are ya gonna do? R&R, peeps!


	8. Vacation, & Something We Can't Lose

A/N: FIFTH UPDATE IN ONE DAY! It's a record! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 8

Vacation…And Something We Can't Bear To Lose…

Roxas and I woke the next morning to fond that the main room was empty, and a notice was posted: "Vacation"  
"Hmmm, I wonder what that means," Roxas murmured. We walked out and found Axel walking off to his room.  
"Axel, did you see the notice in the main room?" I asked as he approached.  
"Yeah, and I'm taking full advantage of it," he said, and stretched.  
"Well, what's our job during vacation?" Roxas asked. I almost slapped my forehead again, but I groaned instead.  
"Roxas, you don't get it, do you? Vacation is where you get to do what you want," Axel told us. "Got it memorized?"  
"Um, okay. But what're you gonna do?" the blonde asked.  
"Me? I'm going to sleep. After that, roll back over and sleep some more," Axel said with a grin.  
"Don't you spend enough time in bed as is?" I pointed out, grinning as well.  
"Are you kidding? I'd take six naps a day if they let me!" Axel laughed, and he left for his room. Roxas and I pondered about what to do, and decided to go to the Clock Tower. Xion was already up there, watching the sun.  
"Hey Xion," we said in greeting.  
"Hey, Roxas and Night," she said with a friendly wave. "I take it you saw the notice?"  
"Yeah, but we don't know what to do," I admitted. "What're you gonna do, Xion?"  
"I'm gonna practice with the Keyblade today. Want to join me?" Xion offered.  
"No, that's okay," Roxas replied.  
"Oh, okay. Well, if you change your minds, you know where to find me," she said, and we left. We wandered through the town, not sure of what to do when we heard some voices from the Sandlot. We walked in to investigate, and found a few of the local teenagers playing some game. Two of them were cheering on the third, and he was using a stick to smack a ball through the air, keeping it in the air the whole time. When he finally let the ball drop, they noticed us.  
"Hey, who're you?" the one who had been using the stick asked. We recognized one of the teens as Pence, who had helped us in our mission to find Xion.  
"Oh, hi Roxas and Night," Pence said, and his friends looked at him, confused.  
"You know these guys?" the sandy blonde boy asked.  
"Yeah, we met once in the tunnels," Pence told him. His friends shrugged, as though they thought this was normal for him. He introduced the guy as Hayner, and the girl as Olette.  
"Hey, what was that game you were playing just now?" I asked. "It looked like fun."  
"Oh, Grandstander?" Hayner said. "Yeah, it's pretty fun. You two wanna take a shot at it?"  
"Sure, that sounds great," Roxas said. We played Grandstander, and even beat Hayner's high score.  
When we finished, Hayner told us, "Well done, that was pretty good."  
"He's just trying to be nice even though you beat his high score," Pence told us, and Hayner elbowed him in the ribs. We all laughed, and Roxas and I bid the teens farewell and left for the Clock Tower. We made it to the Clock Tower first, and Axel was quick to join us.  
"Hey Axel," we greeted him.  
"Whew, I slept like a log," he sighed. He sat down next to us, and peered down at the teens chasing each other around below us. "What's going on down there? Are the kids here on summer vacation? Nah, can't be. It's too early."  
"Summer vacation? What's that?" Roxas asked.  
"A dream come true, that's what—a whole month off," Axel told us.  
"A month?! How do they hang on to their sanity?" Roxas yelped. "We can barely figure out how to fill a day."  
"Well, they do get a little help," the redhead said. "Their teachers dish out plenty of homework. Trust me; it's over before you can even blink."  
"Hmm…we could deal with a week maybe," my blonde friend murmured.  
"Most kids spend their vacation just goofing off with their friends," Axel added. "They save the homework till the end, and then help each other finish it."  
"That sounds fun, I guess," I said, shrugging.  
"Yeah. I hadn't really thought about it much since becoming a Nobody," Axel murmured. "So how'd you guys spend the day?"  
"Hey guys. How'd I know that you'd be here?" Xion came over and joined us, sitting down on Roxas's other side.  
"So, did you end up going anywhere?" Roxas asked her.  
"No—why? Did you guys go somewhere without me?" Xion demanded.  
"Axel went somewhere," I said slyly. "He went to sleep in la-la land."  
"Hahaha! What kind of vacation is that?" Xion laughed.  
"Hey, unlike you three lazybones, I work myself pretty hard!" Axel protested.  
"Hah, maybe you're just out of shape!" Xion teased, and we all laughed.  
"Tomorrow, it's back to work," Axel commented.  
"Yeah…" Roxas and I sighed.  
"I hope we get another vacation soon," Xion said hopefully.  
"Oh, before I forget…I might not see you guys again for a little while," Axel told us.  
"Huh? Why not?" I demanded.  
"They're sending me out on recon for a few days," Axel said.  
"Where?" Xion asked.  
"Can't tell."  
"What do you mean 'can't tell'?" Roxas questioned.  
"It's classified."  
"But I thought we were friends!" Xion pressed.  
"Hey, I'm not about to tell you all my dark secrets," Axel said. "Got it memorized? I bet you guys keep a thing or two from me."  
"We don't have any dark secrets," Roxas and I protested.  
"Haha, relax would ya? I'm kidding," Axel said casually. "I just gotta keep my mouth shut about it, or else Saix will get on my case. You know how he gets."  
"Heh, yeah," I laughed.  
"Try not to bungle everything up while I'm gone," Axel warned us.  
"Now, why would we do that?" Xion teased.  
"Well, considering your track record…"  
"Hey! Don't make me come over there!" Xion said defensively, and then we all laughed.

The next few mornings rolled by, and we were partnered with Xaldin for the day's mission. Axel had also returned. Before we even got to the main room, though, we saw Xion and Saix talking nearby.  
"Just give me another chance!" Xion begged him. We looked up as they were talking.  
"We can't afford to expend any more chances on you," Saix told her coldly. "You were a mistake we never should have made." We approached her, but she ran off, looking upset.  
We were to do some more recon at Beast's Castle, and Xaldin was to tag along, but apparently he was already there. We found him, and the three of us did recon around the castle. Along the way, though, we discovered that the beast of the castle had something he was protecting; something he couldn't bear to lose. Xaldin didn't even try to explain to us, so we decided to ask Axel when we got to the Clock Tower. We got there, and sat down and started to eat our ice cream.  
"Where's Xion?" Axel asked.  
"Haven't seen her today, either," Roxas replied.  
"Oh well," Axel sighed.  
"Hey, Axel…" I started.  
"Huh?"  
"Is there anything you couldn't bear to lose?" I asked.  
"What? Where'd that come from?" Axel said curiously.  
"We ran into somebody today, and…Well, he had something like that," Roxas explained. "Something so important that he couldn't bear to lose it. Why don't Night and I have anything like that?"  
"Because neither of you have hearts," Axel responded casually.  
"Uh, I guess…But Demyx doesn't have a heart, and I bet he'd get upset if you took his sitar away," Roxas tried to argue.  
"Hmm, true, but I don't think that's quite the same," Axel told us. "I guess the closest thing we Nobodies have got is our past. You know, memories of stuff we couldn't bear to lose, back when we couldn't bear to lose it."  
"Oh…too bad we don't remember our pasts," Roxas and I said.  
"Well, what about your present?" Axel tried.  
"Huh?"  
"You've got memories from here in the Organization, right?" Axel suggested.  
"Yeah, we do, don't we?" Roxas said. "We couldn't bear to lose our memories of you or Xion."  
"Well, see? There ya go," Axel replied with a smile. "Everybody's got something they want to hang on to."  
"It's scary to think we could lose you guys," I said.  
"Scary? Scary's a feeling, man," Axel told us.  
"Yeah, we know we can't feel, but…it's still a scary thought," Roxas said.  
"A thought, then. But not a feeling."  
"Are you sure?" we asked doubtfully.  
"Maybe you just remember what it feels like to be scared, and think you're feeling it now," Axel told us. And with that, our day was over, and the sun had set. Roxas and I went back to our room, and put in how we had talked with Axel about the stuff we couldn't bear to lose. We even added in there about Xion and Saix's argument. But we got tired quickly, and fell asleep after writing our entry.

A/N: Okay, now to move on to Chapter 9! I also forgot to mention that this is AXEL'S CHAPTER! R&R, peeps!


	9. Doubt, Second Thoughts, & Girls

A/N: Demyx's Chapter! Jk, jk, it's all still Night! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 9

Doubt…Second Thoughts…And Girls' Complications

Roxas and I got up the next morning as usual, and left for Twilight Town as per Saix's orders. When we got there, though, we saw Xion at the top of the Clock Tower.  
"Huh? Isn't that…?" Roxas wondered, and we made our way up there. "Hey, Xion!"  
"Roxas, Night? Don't you two have a mission?" Xion asked.  
"Yeah, they sent us here today," I told her.  
"Really? Me, too…" she murmured. We watched her for a moment, and then looked away. Xion's gaze rested on us for a moment, too, but like us, she looked away after a second. "Roxas, Night, I'm sorry," she told us. "I shouldn't have run off like that yesterday."  
"Whatever, it didn't bother us," Roxas shrugged.  
"I was upset. I messed up a mission really bad," Xion whispered, and then spoke up louder. "I don't suppose you two heard about the two guys pretending to be Organization members? The Organization imposters? I was ordered to take them out…but I couldn't beat them. Saix was so mad he called me a 'mistake'."  
"Oh…Gosh, we're sorry…" Roxas and I mumbled.  
"Don't be. That jerk can say whatever he wants," Xion told us. "I can take it."  
"Hey, Xion…Why don't we work together today?" Roxas suggested, and I nodded in agreement.  
"Huh? How?"  
"Let's double up our missions," Roxas explained. "If we team up, we should be able to cut through the work faster."  
"Well…okay. Maybe we'll finish early and have more time for ice cream," Xion said happily. We went through the day's work, fighting Heartless and taking down a specific target. Once finished, we each got an ice cream and left for the Clock Tower.  
"Wonder where Axel is," Roxas commented. "Guess we got the work done a little bit too fast, huh?"  
Xion didn't reply, and I watched her, concerned. Eventually, I carefully reached into her mind with my own, and saw what she was thinking about.  
It was a flashback. Her Keyblade had flown into the ground, and Xion is on her knees, panting from exhaustion and pain. She collapsed, and one of the Organization imposters dispelled his own blade as the other perched on his shoulder. The first one kneeled over her, pulling her hood back, and lifted his blindfold to reveal one aqua eye. He gasped along with the second, and they stepped back from her quickly. She struggled to her feet, clutching her side.  
"Your face…Who are you really?" the first imposter asked. "And why do you have a Keyblade?"  
"Tell me first…why you are dressed as one of us," Xion ordered him. The imposters walked over to her Keyblade, still stuck in the ground.  
"To make sure our best friends…sleep in peace," they said. The taller one pulled the Keyblade out from the ground.

"I don't know who you're supposed to be. But…you can't fight fire with sparks. This Keyblade, it's a sham—worthless," the smaller one told her coldly. The first imposter tossed it aside, and Xion gasped at what his companion said.  
"My Keyblade is not a sham! What gives you the right to say that?" she shrieked at them. She picked up her Keyblade, and charged at them, yelling. They swiftly dodged her, and the taller one slammed his fist into her already injured side, and she collapsed again. Her Keyblade vanished, and the imposters stood up.  
"Find a new crowd. Trust us," they warned her. "Those guys are bad news." They walked away, and Xion struggled to her knees.  
"Why? You're the real shams!" Xion yelled after them. She was clutching her side in pain.  
"Fair enough. You could say we are…the biggest nobodies of them all," the imposters replied coolly, and they left. She screamed in frustration, and the flashback ended. I snapped out of it the same time she did, and it was thanks to Roxas.  
"Xion? Hey Xion!" Roxas had said. "What's the matter with you today?"  
"Sorry, my mind's on other things," Xion admitted. "Roxas, Night, why are we doing all this? Working for the Organization?"  
"What do you mean, why?" he asked in confusion. "So we can get hearts of our own, right?"  
"Why? What do we need hearts for?" Xion told him.  
"I don't know," Roxas admitted. "But we figure once we have them, we'll be in a better position to judge, right?"  
"Maybe. I just wish I knew what I was doing here," she replied. "How I got here…I started having the strangest dreams."  
"Really?" Roxas said, and a strange feeling stirred inside of me. She nodded her head.  
"I can never remember what they're about," she told us. "I just wake up feeling like…like something is really wrong."  
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Xigbar said the three of us are pretty special," Roxas told her.  
"…Special just means different," Xion muttered. "Because I'm a mistake."  
"You're not a mistake," Roxas protested, shaking his head.  
Xion stood up and said, "Well, we may be all three special, Roxas and Night. But I don't think we're the same." And then she left without a word.  
"Xion wait-" Roxas tried to say, but sighed as she left. I was silent as I watched their exchange, as I was still stunned by the memory I had just witnessed from Xion. I couldn't tell Roxas, or he would become hell-bent on finding the imposters and eliminating them. I knew we weren't strong enough to do that yet. Axel appeared and came over to us, sitting down beside Roxas.  
"Heya Roxas and Night!" he greeted.  
"Hey Axel," Roxas mumbled.  
"Xion couldn't make it again today?" Axel assumed  
"You just missed her," Roxas said, and we had a flashback of the boy in red and his dragon walking on a moonlit road. We ended up leaving early that evening, and Roxas and I went straight to our room. We wrote in our journal about Xion and us working together on our mission today, and how she had said the three of us were different, which is obvious in looks, but we knew that wasn't what she meant. We even put in there that there seems to be a lot on her mind, and it's not the same as what's on ours.  
The next day, Roxas and I went through our mission like normal, and when finished, left for the Clock Tower. Axel was quick to join us.  
"Hey! No Xion?" he said.  
"Don't hold your breath," Roxas muttered. Axel sat down next to us.  
"Did something happen yesterday?" the redhead asked.  
"Nah, it's nothing," Roxas told him. _I beg to differ_, I thought to myself.  
"…Girls sure are complicated, huh?" Axel guessed, and he was right on with what Roxas and I were thinking.  
"How did you know that's what we were thinking?" Roxas asked, surprised.  
"Because you two aren't so complicated," our friend replied. "But don't take it personal. Most Nobodies aren't."  
"You mean…real people are more complex than us?" my blonde friend asked.  
"Well sure! Especially if they're real and female," Axel said. "That's like a double dose of complicated."  
"So…what about a Nobody girl like Xion?" Roxas asked.  
"Single dose."  
"We are so lost," I said, shaking my head, bewildered.  
"Well, the most important thing to remember when dealing with girls is not to push the wrong buttons," Axel explained. "Got it memorized?"  
"Hmm…yeah…just wish you'd told us that before," Roxas mumbled.  
"Well, just give her some time," the redhead suggested.  
"Why?"  
"Because if you rush in there and try to fix things, you'll just press more buttons," Axel told us.  
"Fine, whatever," Roxas muttered.  
"Haha, you're all right, kids," Axel teased.  
"Don't call us 'kids'!" Roxas snapped at him as I growled. Axel just laughed in response. "Stop laughing!"  
"You'll patch things up with her. Trust me," Axel assured us, nodding.  
"I hope so," Roxas and I murmured.  
We left once the day was done, and made our way home. In our room, we wrote in the journal about today, wondering if Xion was mad at us for any reason. We added in there how Axel had told us that girls were complicated, and that you can't press the wrong buttons. Like we're supposed to know which ones are the right ones. The next day went through as well, and we ended up eating ice cream alone again. We wrote in our journal how we could only taste the salt, and no sweet. As Roxas put it in there, _It's like we're going through the motions of eating it just so we can throw out the stick and get on with our lives._ We finished our entry, and fell asleep.

A/N: WOOT! Another chapter, finished! R&R, peeps!


	10. Xion, What Happened To You?

A/N: Chapter 10 ish here! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 10

Xion, What Happened To You…?

We walked into the main room the next day, and Luxord approached us.  
"Roxas, Night, how has the game been treating you?" he asked us.  
"Uh…fine I guess," Roxas replied. Luxord always spoke in gambling terms, so sometimes he was hard to understand.  
"Saix shuffled us together for today's mission," Luxord informed us. "I wager we'll make a good enough team."  
"I don't see why not," I shrugged.  
"Oh, by the way, did you hear what happened to Xion?" he asked suddenly, changing the subject.  
"No, what?!" Roxas demanded.  
"She bungled her last mission and has been in deep sleep ever since," Luxord answered. "Can't win them all, I suppose."  
"Xion!" Roxas said in a panic, and I gripped his shoulder tightly as he turned to run out of the room and find Xion. Saix tried to stop us, though.  
"And where do you think you're going, Roxas and Night?" Saix demanded.  
"To see Xion," Roxas answered.  
"But you have a mission."  
"Which we'll do!" Roxas snapped at him.  
"You cannot help your comrade. Xion will not wake up," Saix said coldly. Roxas shook his head angrily, and I growled in annoyance.  
"That's not the point! We should be with her," Roxas protested, and we tried to run off again.  
"What do you care? The creature is broken," Saix told us. "Defective." Roxas froze in his tracks. _Uh-oh_, I thought.  
"Don't call her that!" Roxas shouted at him.  
"I'll call that thing whatever I want. How we deal with Xion is no concern of yours," the blunette replied.  
"We didn't ask you if it was!" I snapped at him.  
"Look at yourselves, Roxas and Night. Up in arms over a nobody."  
"We're all Nobodies!" I snarled.  
"Settle down. Xion's failings won't affect your standings with us. Neither of you has anything to worry about," Saix told us.  
"Won't affect our—what is wrong with you?" Roxas demanded. "Look, we'll do our mission—later." We ran to her room and stood by her bedside.  
"Oh Xion…" we sighed in unison. Roxas pulled out a seashell that Xion had given to him back when we were in our comas, and placed it on her bed, just like she had for us. Later, we returned to the main room, and left on our mission. When finished for the day, we made our way to the Clock Tower, and joined Axel.  
"Axel, about Xion…" Roxas began.  
"Saix told me what happened this morning," Axel sighed.  
"Why does he hate her so much?" I wondered aloud.  
"Listen to yourselves," Axel told us. "How come you do that? Talk like you're real people."  
"Why? What did we say?" I asked. "We don't know how real people talk."  
"I mean, sometimes you two really sound like you're heartsick or something," Axel answered.  
"When we saw her lying there…we couldn't stop thinking that she'll never wake up," Roxas mumbled.  
"She will," Axel assured us.  
"Saix called her 'broken'," I told the redhead.  
"Hmm…Well, if it cheers either of you up, I'm probably a lot more broken than her," Axel said, trying to raise our spirits, but it didn't work.  
"Saix knows something about her," Roxas murmured. "Why Night, her, and I are special Nobodies."  
"Well…if it's gonna keep you both up at night, I could ask him for you," Axel offered.  
"Really?!" Roxas said hopefully, and he stood up so quickly that I almost fell off the Clock Tower.  
"Yes, really! Sheesh, sit down," Axel said. "I'll ask, but don't get your hopes up. Straight answers aren't exactly his specialty."  
Roxas sat back down and said, "He's more likely to tell you than he is us."  
"True."  
"I just hope she wakes up soon," I murmured worriedly. After we left for home, Roxas and I went to our room and wrote in our journal. We wrote about how Xion had failed in her mission and fell into a deep sleep. We had thought that they were lying when they told us, but when we had gone to see her, she really was deep in sleep. Roxas added in there about how we had left a seashell by her pillow, just like she had for us. Roxas even added in there how we were confused as to why Saix hates her so much. The last thing we wrote was how those pictures of the boy in red and his black dragon flashed through our heads again on the day's mission. Finally, after that, we fell asleep.  
The next morning, we ran out to find Axel, hoping we could get some answers. It wasn't hard to spot him, and besides, he was already coming to us.  
"Hey Roxas and Night," he greeted.  
"Find anything out about Xion?" I asked eagerly.  
"I talked to Saix," Axel told us.  
"Really?! What did he say?" Roxas demanded.  
"His…his lips were sealed," Axel said hesitantly. "Sorry guys, I tried."  
Roxas looked down sadly and mumbled, "That's okay."  
"But he did say he would take back calling her broken—if she proves herself more capable going forward," Axel added. "The best thing you two can do for her now is just keep up the good work."  
"We will! Thanks, Axel! That's great news!" Roxas said happily. But as we walked away, I barely heard Axel say very quietly, "Ugh, sorry, guys."  
We finished with the day's mission, had ice cream with Axel, and left for home again. We wrote in our journal about how Axel had spoken to Saix, but no dice. We added in there about how Axel had told us that Saix was having second thoughts about calling her broken, though. I sighed with content as Roxas finished, and we both lie down and fell asleep.

A/N: And there ya have it! R&R, peeps!


	11. Xion's Awake! That's Great, But,

A/N: And here's Chapter 11! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 11

Xion's Awake! That's Great, But…

Xion was fast asleep as we sat on the edge of her bed. Suddenly, I was sucked into Xion's dreaming mind, and I saw the boy in red, his dragon, and a girl that similar to Xion. A light appeared from the boy's and dragon's chests, and two hearts flowed out. They both flowed into the sleeping girl's chest, giving off a shine as they did so. The boy's and dragon's eyes started to close as they glowed. They began to fall back, and then split into tiny points of light. The girl awoke and tried to grab them, but as she did, the light scatters, and she shouts their names, but the whole memory was soundless. I couldn't even tell what the girl was saying, because I was suddenly ripped out from Xion's mind as she woke up. She gasped in shock.  
"Whoa! Xion…Good morning," Roxas told her as he quickly recovered from his shock.  
"Morning…" she murmured.  
"You startled us," Roxas said.  
"S-sorry…" she stammered. She saw the seashells by her pillow, and smiled to herself. "You brought me seashells." She held one up to her ear, and listened to the sound of the waves.  
"Do you hear it?" Roxas asked.  
"Yeah, the sound of the waves," she said quietly. "How long was I asleep?"  
"About twenty days," my blonde friend told her.  
"That long?!" she yelped in shock.  
"Yeah, Axel, Roxas and I were getting worried," I said. I was about to ask her about that memory she'd had that I saw, but I quickly threw the thought into the back of my mind.  
"I'm sorry. I feel bad. Kind of…weird that we can't feel anything at all, huh?" Xion said. "Without hearts to feel with."  
"Yeah…"  
"Hey, don't you two have work?" she asked suddenly.  
"Huh? Oh, we're about to head out," Roxas answered.  
"Can I come, too?" Xion asked eagerly.  
"But…don't you need more rest?" Roxas asked her.  
"After sleeping for nearly three weeks? I'll be fine," Xion assured us. "C'mon, take me with you."  
"All right…sure," we agreed. We left for the main room, and Saix approached us. Xion looked down as Roxas held her hand to give her support.  
"Well, well. It lives," Saix commented. "There's just no keeping you down."  
"Saix, I want to go with Roxas and Night today on their mission," Xion told Saix.  
Saix shook his head and replied, "You belong in your room."  
Axel joined us then, and said in surprise, "Oh, hey, Xion! About time you crawled out of bed."  
"Morning, Axel," Xion greeted him.  
"Roxas and Night will team up with Axel today, as scheduled," Saix interrupted. "Xion, I'm afraid I forgot to pencil you in."  
"Don't keep me pent up in here," Xion begged. "I need the exercise."  
"I'll look after her," Axel offered. "I promise not to let her out of my sight."  
"Hmm…fine. Go, if that's what suits you," the blunette said coldly, and left.  
Once he was gone Xion said, "A four-man team? That's a first."  
"Let's go, huh?" Axel said hurriedly. "Before Saix changes his mind!" We departed for Twilight Town to take down two large Heartless targets.  
"This should be fun, huh?" Xion commented. "Quadrupling up like this."  
"Yeah, I think this is our first four-man mission," Roxas and I said.  
"Just remember that it's still a mission," Axel reminded us. "We're not on a field trip, guys."  
"Yeah, yeah," Xion dismissed his warning. "It sure is nice to be back on my feet."  
"Just don't push it, you hear me?" Axel cautioned her. "We'll pick up the slack."  
"I hear you. Thanks," Xion said with a nod. We headed out for the sandlot, defeated our first target, and headed off to the Station Plaza for the second target. When we got there, though, Xion collapsed.  
"Xion!" Roxas gasped as Axel caught her. The Heartless appeared, and Roxas and I looked at Axel.  
"I've got Xion. You take out the target!" he ordered with a nod of his head.  
"Okay!" I yelled to him. Roxas and I quickly dispatched the Heartless, and ran back over to Axel and Xion.  
I heard a faint murmur of "Sora…Shadow…" from Xion as we approached, but Roxas didn't hear it. I had no idea who this Sora and Shadow were, but I felt the names were vaguely familiar.  
"Xion!" Roxas cried out as we rushed to her.  
"It's okay. She's not hurt," Axel assured us.  
"But Axel-" Roxas tried to protest.  
"Look, let's just RTC, okay?" Axel said worriedly. We quickly RTC'd, and when walking through the castle, Saix intercepted us.  
"Well, that didn't take long," he sneered. "Did it break again?"  
"She's not an 'it'!" Roxas snapped at him, and I let a snarl rip out of my chest.  
As Axel walked past Saix, he snapped at Saix, "Keep your mouth shut." Roxas and I followed him, not looking back.  
As we walked away, I heard Saix murmur, "You have changed." Axel turned around and looked up at Saix. "Something at Castle Oblivion changed you. Does the past mean nothing to you now?" Saix said to Axel, but we continued to walk away. Axel set Xion on her bed and turned around face us.  
"Are you worried about her, Axel?" Roxas and I asked him.  
"Of course I am," he said quietly.  
Roxas and I smirked and I said, "Doesn't seem like you."  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
"You hate complications," Roxas explained.  
Axel thought about something for a moment, then said, "Roxas, Night, I meet up with you three every day for ice cream, right? Now why do I do that?"  
"Huh?"  
"I mean, you think about it, I don't need to go out of my way, right?" Axel explained.  
"I guess not," Roxas muttered.  
"You wanna know why I do?" Axel asked, and we nodded. "Because you three are my best friends. The four of us…we're inseparable."  
"We are?" Roxas said in surprise. I sighed and rolled my eyes at Roxas as though to tell him, _DUH_.  
"That's right—get it memorized," Axel told us. "And you know what? Best friends are willing to deal with complications."  
"Yeah...yeah, you said it, Axel," we said. I heard Xion stir.  
"Heh heh…Thanks Axel. You're sweet," Xion whispered from her bed. Axel rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed.  
"Feeling better?" Roxas asked her.  
"I just got a little dizzy," she replied. "Sorry to worry you guys."  
"Try not to scare us like that anymore, huh?" Axel said.  
"Okay," she murmured.  
"And you take it easy today," he added.  
"I will, thanks," Xion assured us.  
Roxas and I wrote in our journal again tonight, and we put in about how Xion had woken up, only to pass out again on our mission. We even put in there how Axel had told us that the four of us were best friends—inseparable.

A/N: And we're almost done! Just 4 more chapters, and then this one is finished! R&R, peeps!


	12. Day 255 And The Imposters Again

A/N: 12 down, 3 to go! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 12

Day 255…And The Imposter Again…

Roxas and I had gone through a series of missions for the past several days, all in success. We had actually just finished our most recent mission and were sitting on the Clock Tower waiting for Axel and Xion eating ice cream when Axel appeared at the corner.  
"You're early," he commented as he came over and sat down.  
"No, you're just late," Roxas and I told him. Axel looked at us and smiled, and then pulled out his own ice cream after a few moments of silence. "Today makes 255," we said in unison.  
"What's that about?" Axel asked, looking at us with genuine curiosity.  
"It's been that many days since we first joined the Organization," Roxas explained. "Man, time flies."  
"So, you got the number memorized, do ya?" Axel asked.  
"Yeah. Have to hang onto something, right?" I shrugged. "It's not like we have any memories from before the Organization. Don't you remember? Roxas and I acted like zombies." Axel placed his hand on Roxas's shoulder and my back.  
"Right, that first week you two could barely form a sentence," he said, remembering. "But come one, you're both still kinda like zombies!" He playfully patted Roxas on the back, and on my tail.  
"Oh, thanks!" Roxas and I laughed. Axel joined in, and we sat there for a few moments in comfortable silence.  
"Hey, Roxas and Night, I bet you don't know why the sun sets red," the redhead said. "You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all of those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."  
Roxas elbowed him gently in the ribs and said, "Like we asked! Know-it-all!"  
"Oh, so the sun is like your hair, then?" I teased. We all laughed again. More time passed, and we all finished our ice creams. Eventually, Axel was lying on his back, and I was contemplating joining him. Roxas looked at the corner entrance, where no one was there.  
"Seriously, where is she?" he wondered. I noticed Axel's face turn serious as he sat back up, and I mentally pondered the meaning.  
"Roxas, Night, I'm not sure if she's gonna show today," Axel murmured. Roxas looked at him worriedly.  
"Did she collapse again?" he asked.  
"She…" Axel looked away, looking thoughtful, and said, "What, didn't you hear? She got sent on a really important mission. Pretty cool, huh?"  
"Oh…So when's she coming back?" I asked.  
"Well, I guess that depends on how well she does her job, right?" Axel replied.  
"Heh, fair enough," Roxas said. I couldn't believe that Xion had been sent on an important mission, and hadn't told us. I'm…not so sure about Axel anymore.  
The next day, we were all summoned to the Round Room. Xemnas got our attention, and began to speak.  
"Xion is gone," he announced. My body stiffened, and I could feel Roxas's body under my claws, motionless with shock.  
"What?! Whoa whoa, time out…You mean she, like, flew the coop?" Demyx yelped.  
"Hah, preposterous," Xaldin scoffed. "What would drive her to choose her own demise?"  
"On the contrary. No one is to go looking for Xion without my express permission," Xemnas's order rang throughout the room, and Roxas got up in his seat with rage as I balanced on his shoulder.  
"What?! Why not?!" Roxas demanded, and I followed with a snarl.  
"Your 'friend' will be left alone," Saix told us coldly. "Or would you rather we find some punishment?"  
"We'd rather you get her back!" we yelled at him.  
"And why would we do that?" Saix taunted. Roxas and I just growled under our breath, and sat back down.  
"All will be revealed when the time comes," Xemnas informed everyone.  
"Hmm…Which means, if the time doesn't come, things can stay as they are…" I barely heard Axel breathe.  
"Lord Xemnas has spoken. Obey, or face your end," Saix ordered us, and we left. Roxas and I left on our mission feeling disheartened, and we just went through the motions without caring. We finished, and left for the Clock Tower. We got there, but…nobody was there.  
"Axel could've shown up, at least," Roxas muttered angrily. I nodded in fervent agreement. That being said, though, I could've sworn I heard Axel's even breathing from the entrance, but I shrugged it off as just the wind. I should've checked, though…  
The next day rolled by, and we left for the Clock Tower as usual, but of course, no one's there. "Xion…Axel…where are you?" we whispered to the sky.

The next few days passed, and we left for the Clock Tower as usual. When we got there, however, Axel was actually there for once.  
"Wow, you're actually up here," Roxas commented, a bitter trace to his voice. I bit back a stinging remark.  
"Been that long, huh?" Axel remarked. We sat down next to him, and began to talk.  
"We got to go to the beach today for our mission," we said. "There was this girl there who looked kind of like Xion…but we couldn't get close enough to tell for sure. We probably imagined it. To be honest, we're not even sure if today's mission really happened. We feel like we just woke up from a dream or something. This is gonna sound crazy, but you know how we promised each other we'd all go to the beach? Well, we think we only saw her there because we wanted her to be there." Axel stood up.  
"You wanna go look for her?" he asked us.  
"Huh? But Xemnas's orders…" Roxas said in confusion.  
"Orders, shmorders," Axel scoffed. "Starting tomorrow, let's use our spare time between work and coming here to try and find Xion." Roxas and I stood up.  
"Okay…Yeah, it's a deal!" Roxas and I said in unison. We looked to the sunset, and I noticed Axel look down as though he felt bad about something, but I couldn't quite place my claw on it. Oh well.

Several days passed, and even though we had been searching, Roxas, Axel, and I couldn't find Xion. After work one day, we sat together on the Clock Tower eating our ice cream.  
"It's no use. We're never gonna find her," Roxas said, hanging his head.  
"You sure there isn't someplace you're forgetting to check?" Axel asked us.  
"We've been everywhere we know how to get to," I told him as I shook my head.  
"Right…" he said, rubbing the back of his head.  
"The only place I haven't looked is Castle Oblivion," Roxas admitted. Axel head snapped up. "Xion was asking about it, remember? And the day before she disappeared, you said she was out on an important mission."  
"Yeah…but that place has been cleared out, man. Nothing's there," Axel said.  
"Xion might be there," Roxas argued.  
"You know, that's where she comes from," Axel told us. "Castle Oblivion."  
"What?! Really?!" I gasped.  
"That's probably why she was asking about it," Axel guessed.  
"We had no idea," Roxas and I murmured.  
"Hey, neither did I," Axel replied. "I only found out a little while ago myself."  
"She must have a lot of questions," Roxas assumed. "Poor Xion…"  
Our journal entry that night went something like this: "There's one place we haven't checked yet to see if Xion's there—Castle Oblivion. When we brought it up with Axel, he surprised us by saying that Castle Oblivion is where Xion comes from. We guess he just found out himself. Is that where she is?" After finishing our writing, we hoped that she was.  
The next morning, we made our way to the main room. Axel and Saix were talking together as we approached.  
"The imposters have been sighted again," Saix was saying.  
"Imposters? You mean the two that Xion…" our voices drifted as we spoke.  
"They're prowling about Castle Oblivion as we speak," Saix informed us.  
"Castle Oblivion? We'll go," Roxas and I offered.  
"Not by yourselves, you won't," Saix ordered. "These targets are extremely dangerous."  
"Then how 'bout I tag along?" Axel asked. "I know Castle Oblivion better than anyone else in this outfit."  
"All right, better," Saix replied. "Go, then, and teach these frauds the price for wearing our coats." Saix walked away, and Axel, Roxas, and I looked at each and nodded determinedly.  
"Ask and ye shall receive," Axel joked. We made quick work of preparing for the mission and left as a team for Castle Oblivion. Upon arriving, we noticed we were in a white hall.  
"So, this is Castle Oblivion…" Roxas and I murmured. Suddenly, we clutched our heads in agony as pain and suffering rushed into our minds. I fell off of Roxas's shoulder, but barely felt it; the pain was all in my head.  
"Roxas, Night?!" Axel gasped.  
"Agh, my…my head!" Roxas yelled from the pain. He fell to his knees as I writhed on the floor in agony and yelped loudly.  
Axel said in a panic, "Hey, easy man! Let's retreat for now and-"  
"No…We have to…find Xion…What's happening?" Roxas and I growled through the pain.  
"Roxas! Night!" Axel yelled. Everything went blinding white.  
"All these…pictures…rushing into our heads…" Roxas and I whispered through the pain, and I shrieked.  
"We're leaving. Now!" Axel ordered.  
"No, wait…There's something…we can almost…" we groaned in desperation. We collapsed on the floor while trying to struggle to our feet. Everything went away, except for a single voice we couldn't recognize from our own memories, but sounded familiar to something else that wasn't ours.  
"Giving up already? I thought you were stronger than that."  
"RIKU!" Roxas gasped, sitting upright suddenly.

"KURAI!" I shouted, sitting up just as quickly.  
"Whoa, you two okay there?" Axel asked in a concerned tone.  
"What happened?" Roxas asked. I tried to remember, but whimpered when I remember the agony and torture of being at Castle Oblivion.  
"You both collapsed right inside the castle doors," Axel reminded us. "Don't you remember?" I nodded shakily.  
"I remember going in, that's it," Roxas said. I was staring off into space, focused only on that torturous pain.  
"Hey, maybe you should both take a breather," Axel suggested.  
"We're fine," I spat, standing up and shaking myself vigorously as if to shake off the memory. "We need to go back to Castle Oblivion." I hated feeling weak, and that castle made me feel weak.  
"Hah, I don't think so," Axel argued. Suddenly, I snarled and leapt to my feet as I noticed to figures watching us nearby.  
"Who's there?!" Axel demanded, and we saw three cloaked figures.  
"Xion?" Roxas said weakly. One lowered their head and summoned a dark corridor, and walked inside.  
"Xion, wait!" Roxas tried to protest. We ran over but the other two stepped in the way as the corridor closed behind them.  
"Rrgh…get out of the way!" I snarled at him. The figures said nothing, and instead ran away.  
"Hey!" Roxas yelled, and we quickly took off after them.  
"Roxas, Night, wait up!" Axel yelled, and ran after us. We pursued the figures that weren't Xion and chased them around in the Underground Tunnel. We followed them to a dead end, but by the time we got there, a dark corridor was closing behind the pair.  
"I thought the imposters were sighted at Castle Oblivion!" Axel panted in shock. "What're they doing here?"  
"Xion…" Roxas said quietly, and I whimpered.  
"Ain't no way that was Xion!" Axel protested.  
"The other one was," Roxas and I said. "The one who escaped before. But…we don't get it. Why would she run from us?" We ate ice cream on the Clock Tower afterwards, and talked about Xion and the imposters.  
"Why would she do that?" Roxas wondered aloud. I watched my closest friend sadly.  
"At least we know she's safe," Axel said. "She'll come home when she's ready."  
"But won't they turn her into a Dusk?" Roxas asked.  
"Not necessarily," he said. We didn't press the matter, because we didn't want to know what they would do to her.  
"Who was that guy she was with?" I wondered aloud. "Why is she cooperating with him?" Axel didn't respond, but I had a sneaking suspicion he knew. That night, our journal entry read: "We went to Castle Oblivion to find Xion, but we don't remember anything about it. Axel says we collapsed as soon as we got there. We woke up in Twilight Town, and incredibly enough, Xion was there. But she wasn't alone—there were these guys with her, and they were wearing the Organization's cloaks. We could tell by their build that they weren't one of us, though. Who were they?"


	13. Xion, Why?

A/N: And now, 13 down, 2 more to go! ROXY'S CHAPTER! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 13

Xion…Why…?

We were walking through the castle to find out the day's mission when we heard Axel yell, "You're ordering me to what?!" We saw that Axel and Saix were talking.  
"Tell me what choice is left, now that Xion has made contact with the two in the black coats," Saix told him. Saix noticed us, and left when Axel looked at us and we approached.  
"Um, Axel?" we said, but he turned and walked away without a word. We went into the main room, where we were to get our mission for the day. Instead, Saix had some chilling words for us.  
"Xion has betrayed us," he said.  
"What? No!" Roxas and I tried to protest.  
"You saw the creature consorting with those impostors," Saix replied. "What more evidence do we need?"  
"That's not evidence! Who knows why she was with them?!" Roxas yelled at Saix, and I let a series of snarls rip from my chest in response.  
"I think we all know, and you just don't want to accept it," Saix remarked.  
"He might be forcing her," Roxas argued weakly, his head hung.  
"Ha! Spare me your repulsive displays of would-be sentiment," the blunette scoffed.  
"It's not a display! Why is it such a crime to give each other the benefit of the doubt?" Roxas yelled in frustration. Axel walked over and shook his head as if to tell us to quit while we were ahead.  
"The imposters have resurfaced in Twilight Town," Saix informed us. "Go and destroy them, Roxas and Night—like I expected you to do yesterday." We just growled angrily under our breath. "Axel, you bring Xion back. Gagged and tied up, for all I care. If that proves too troublesome, then you are authorized to adopt a more permanent solution."  
"What? Saix, no!" Roxas and I all but begged.  
"Get going," he ordered us coldly, and left.  
"Well, this is pretty icky, huh?" Axel said, speaking to us for the first time in the whole day.  
"You're not actually gonna follow those orders?" Roxas asked in disbelief.  
"Relax," Axel told us. "I'll think of something clever once I find her. You just worry about yourselves, huh? Those guys in the coats didn't look like ones to go down without a fight."  
"We know."  
We arrived in Twilight Town, as per Saix's orders, and began to track down the impostor. We walked to the Tram Common, and Roxas said to me, "I know that was Xion we saw yesterday. But…who were the guys with her? Why didn't she try to get away from them?" I shrugged in response. Suddenly, I caught the impostor's scent on the wind, and looked up.  
"Roxas, one of the impostors!" I yelled, and he looked. "Hey!" We quickly pursued him throughout the Tram Common, and finally cornered him in the alley where the residents dump trash. The figure turned and took off their hood, revealing…Xion?!  
"Xion…." Roxas murmured to her. We walked up to her. "Where have you been? Axel, Night and I have been looking all over for you." I nodded as he spoke.  
"You have? Sorry," she said softly.  
"Let's go home," I suggested. "If you come back voluntarily, Saix will let all this drop. He has to." I sensed Axel nearby, and I could picture him leaning against the wall with his arms folded, listening to our conversation. I grew still on Roxas's shoulder.  
"We don't care what he said to you," Roxas told her. "We'll be there. Us and Axel will make sure-" She stepped back as he held out his hand to her.  
"I really can't," she told us, looking upset.  
"Why not? Come on…" Roxas tried to grab her, but she pulled farther away. She looked down and tried to run. Roxas grabbed her arm. "Wait!"  
She stopped, and summoned her Keyblade, and pointed it straight at us. Roxas let go of her arm. Suddenly, one of Axel's chakrams flew in, aiming straight at Xion, but she blocked it and it stuck into the ground, disappearing into flames. Axel walked in, and I resisted the urge to fight him; he was our friend, and I didn't want to hurt him. Or Xion for that matter.  
"Well, hello there…Xion," he said as he walked in. Roxas looked at him, confused.  
"Axel?" he stated, bewildered. Xion lunged at Axel, and Roxas yelled in protest, "No, wait!"  
They went back and forth with one another, Xion jumping this way and that, and Axel throwing his chakrams at her as she deflected. We stood there helpless as we watched them fight. Xion was going in for another attack, and Axel was ready.  
"Stop!" we yelled in unison. Xion hesitated, and looked back at us. Axel took the opportunity to smack her from behind, and knocked her unconscious. She fell forward, but Axel caught her, and her Keyblade fell to the ground with a metal clang, and vanished. "Xion…" we whispered, and ran to her, but Axel left using a dark corridor, and we ended up by ourselves. I whimpered slightly. Later, we were back at the castle when we spotted Axel.  
"Axel!" Roxas yelled angrily.  
"Oh hey, Roxas and Night," he said casually.  
"Where is she?" Roxas demanded, and I growled.  
"Safe."  
"How could you do that to her?" I demanded.  
"Do what?" he said, playing dumb.  
"You didn't have to use force," I snapped at him.  
"Didn't I?"  
"No…Of course not! We're supposed to be best friends," Roxas argued.  
"This isn't about friendship," he said. He rubbed the back of his head as we watched him, waiting for an explanation. "Well, if that's all, I gotta go." We stared after him in shock as he walked away.  
_If that's all?!_ Roxas and I thought in disgust. We wrote in our journal that night, and tonight's entry read: "We can't believe it. Axel attacked Xion. There had to have been some other way. We know she's acting weird, but we hardly recognize Axel these days either. What's going through their heads? We feel so left out."  
The next morning, we were asking about Xion, but nobody knew about where or how she was. Roxas and I thought the same thing, and we left for the Round Room. We appeared on our chair, and began to speak with Xemnas.  
"We need to ask you something," Roxas began.  
"And what would that be?" Xemnas asked.  
"What happened to Xion? Can you tell us?" I asked nervously. Xemnas was a strange leader, so I was a bit unnerved by his mere presence.  
"Put your minds at ease," he assured us. "Xion is a valued member of the Organization, but she needs her rest." Roxas and I thought way back to when we were at the Dark Margin, and when Xemnas had passed us, placing his hand on Roxas's shoulder and my back. We remember him mouthing the words, "Sora…Shadow". The memory ended, and we looked back to Xemnas.  
"…Sora…and Shadow," we breathed. Xemnas said nothing in response. "Who are Sora and Shadow?"  
"They're the connection," he told us.  
"The what?" Roxas asked, confused. I tilted my head to the side in confusion.  
"They are what make you two and Xion a part of each other's lives," Xemnas explained. "Just as they are the reason I placed Xion among our number. And if you want her to stay this way, I must insist you both get your minds off these needless distractions. I will have Xion return to her duties tomorrow. Today, you must focus on yours."  
"All right," we sighed, and left the Round Room. As we walked through Twilight's View in the castle, we stopped when we saw Axel.  
"Hey, Roxas and Night," he said. We walked past him without a word, and I heard him sigh quietly after us. We finished the mission for the day, and RTC'd without going to the Clock Tower. Once in our room, we wrote in our journal and the entry read: "Xemnas told us that 'Sora and Shadow' are the connection between us and Xion. But just who exactly are Sora and Shadow?"  
The next day came and went, and Roxas and I went to the Clock Tower for the first time in a while. While there, Axel and Xion joined us. We sat in silence the entire time. It was the first time in a really long time that we were all four up there, at least it felt like it. Once the sun had set, we left for home, and wrote in our journal. The entry read: "For the first time in a while, the four of us met on the Clock Tower. None of us really knew what to say. We used to talk each other's ears off, but we guess those days are gone. So much has happened lately that we've been forgetting to write about those pictures in our heads. Now it happens even when we're not on missions. More often, too. They even show up in our dreams. Xion told us she has dreams, too. Is all of this connected?"

A/N: And…Finished! Two more to go! R&R, peeps!


	14. Weaker, & Weaker, & Weaker Still

A/N: One more to go after this!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 14

Getting Weaker, & Weaker, & Weaker Still

Roxas and I went through the motions of the passing days, not feeling much except for tiredness from what felt like lack of sleep. One night, though, we had a dream where the boy in red and his dragon lost the Keyblade and light to another guy and dark grey dragon. We didn't recognize the other pair, but the boy in red and his black dragon we've been seeing. We woke up, and each felt moisture on our cheeks; it was a single tear.  
"Wh-what? Did something get in our eyes?" we wondered quietly. We left for the main room, where we got our mission for the day. We were paired with Xion, so we left right away. Once in Agrabah, we felt...depleted of energy. I groaned and stretched, but that didn't help. Roxas slumped over, looking tired.  
"What's wrong?" Xion asked worriedly.  
"Nothing," we said.  
"You look pale…" she remarked.  
"You're imagining things," Roxas said, and straightened up with a smile. "Let's go."  
"Well…okay…"  
We explored the Cave of Wonders, which seemed to have more new areas to check out. We reached the Lamp Chamber, as it was called, and approached what looked like a sealed keyhole.  
"End of the line," Roxas commented.  
"I remember this…" Xion murmured. We looked at her.  
"Huh?" we said.  
"It's a keyhole, see?" she told us. I saw into her mind, and saw the boy in red and his dragon using the Keyblade and light to seal the keyhole. I snapped out of it as she almost fell, feeling faint. I shook my head as I jumped off from Roxas's shoulder.  
"You okay?" Roxas asked her.  
"Y-yeah," she said. I joined them again, and she looked at us in the eyes, and I felt weird when she did. "You both look so much like them."  
"…What?" Roxas said in bewilderment. Suddenly, our target Heartless appeared, and we leapt into action. Out of nowhere, though, Xion finished it off with a single slash of her Keyblade. She looked at her Keyblade in shock.  
"H-how…how did I just do that?" she whispered in shock. "Where did that power come from?" She saw us nearby, and we looked and felt exhausted. "Roxas? Night?" She ran over to us and asked, "Hey, are you all right?"  
"Yeah…Using the Keyblade and light these days…We don't know what's wrong with us—we just run out of steam," we said together.  
"You…you do?" she asked curiously.  
"You know what, never mind," we said. "We're probably jus overworked, heh."  
"You sure you're both okay?" she pressed.  
"'Course we are," I said, and puffed out my chest. "C'mon, let's RTC."  
We were hanging out at the Clock Tower eating ice cream as usual, when Xion asked, "You're both really, really okay?"  
"Okay, now you're starting to weird us out," Roxas told her with a chuckle.  
"Why?"  
"Since when do you ever worry about us?" I asked in jest.  
"Well, excuse me!" she laughed.  
"Just feels strange, is all," Roxas explained. "Usually we do all the worrying over you. We don't think it's ever been the other way around before."  
"Well, for your information…I worry about you two all the time, Roxas and Night," she replied.  
"We're glad you're back, Xion," Roxas told her. "We just wish Axel hadn't been so rough with you."  
"I guess he's not coming today," Xion remarked.  
"You want him to?" I asked in disbelief.  
"What, did you three have a fight?" she asked, confused.  
"We can't believe that jerk would actually attack," Roxas muttered.  
"So he's a jerk now?" Xion said. We said nothing, just sat there silently. "Roxas, Night, I wouldn't be sitting here if Axel hadn't done that." Still nothing from us. "He's both your guys' best friend."  
"So are you," we said lamely.  
"It's just not the same without the four of us…" she remarked, and we all three left once the sun had set. We wrote in our journal, and it read: "We feel so tired—almost disconnected from our bodies. The dreams have gotten stranger. Now we wake up with water on our cheeks. We don't know how it got there, but we think there's something really wrong with us. Today we were teamed up with Xion. She seems to be in a lot better shape than us. We had ice cream together, something we hadn't done in a while."  
The next day went by quickly, and we wrote again in our journal: "We had another dream. Our heads feel heavy. We want to have ice cream with Xion and Axel again."  
The next few days passed by uneventfully, and when something did happen, it was thanks to Saix. That day, we went up to Xion and tried to say "hi", but didn't get a chance to. She left the room for her mission, and we went straight to Saix. When we got to him, he rushed us.  
"Roxas and Night. How are you feeling today?" he asked  
"Same as always," we sighed. I pondered it, though. Saix wasn't one to ask that kind of question, so he was acting weird.  
"I have and urgent mission for you both, and the Keyblade, and your light," he told us. "There's a Heartless that surfaced in Halloween Town. I was hoping you two might exterminate it for us."  
"S…sure…Leave it to us!" we said confidently. Halloween Town was another world that we'd been to lately.  
"Hey, whoa whoa whoa…Roxas, Night, you really wanna do that?" Axel said suddenly, and he looked genuinely concerned for our well-being.  
"Why wouldn't we? I asked him.  
"It's just, lately you-"  
"Shouldn't you already be out on your own mission, Axel?" Saix asked coldly.  
"Yeah, we need to get ready, too," Roxas told him. "Let's catch up later!" We ran off and left for Halloween Town, leaving a worried Axel behind. Once in Halloween Town, we started to search for the target. As we searched, Roxas said worriedly, "Xion looked really upset when she left this morning. I wonder what's on her mind…We should go talk to her when we finish up here." I nodded in agreement. I was a dragon of few words sometimes, but I did have a personality, at least. We check the town, but there was no sign of it. When we got to the Graveyard, however, I felt that the air was charged here. I bristled from the possible threat, and Roxas looked to me for some guidance.  
"Where is it, Night?" he asked me.  
"I-I can't tell," I stammered. Suddenly, the target appeared out of nowhere from behind us. "WAH!" I yelped, and fell off from Roxas's shoulder. He quickly summoned his Keyblade to him, activating my light, and we attacked the Heartless. After several powerful blows, though, it still wasn't down.  
"It's…it's too powerful," Roxas panted. "We've gotta finish this now, before it wears us down any further. It's all or nothing…" We rushed the Heartless, but in a flash and a burst of flames, Axel appeared and blocked our attacks with his chakrams.  
"STOP! All of you!" Axel yelled at us, and we saw Xion standing on Axel's other side, her Keyblade being held back by one of the chakrams.  
"Xion?!" we gasped.  
"Roxas, Night? Wh…what are you doing here?" Xion yelped. "The Heartless I was fighting—it was you two?"  
"This mission was a setup," Axel informed us.  
"What?" I said in confusion. We all relaxed, and Axel lowered his chakrams.  
"It was rigged so that you three would battle each other," Axel explained.  
"Us and Xion? But…" Roxas said.  
"They would do that?" Xion whispered in shock. We left for the Clock Tower, and ate some ice cream once there.  
"Brain freeze," Xion laughed.  
"Been a while since we all hung out like this, huh?" Roxas said.  
"Well, we have had our share of drama," Axel pointed out. "Hey, I just remembered—did you guys know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?"  
"Really? For what?" Xion asked.  
"Once you finish your ice cream bar, check the stick. It might say WINNER," Axel told us.  
"Hey, wait a second…Oh yeah!" Roxas blurted out, and quickly recovered when I nudged him to keep him quiet.  
"'Oh yeah' what?" Axel asked.  
"Uhh…n-nothing. So what do you win?" I stammered, changing the subject.  
"Heh, beats me," Axel replied.  
"Haha, you don't know?" I laughed.  
"It's gotta be something good, if you're a winner!" the redhead said, and we laughed together.  
"Right," Roxas replied.  
"Heh heh heh…Wow. The sun sure is beautiful," Xion remarked. "I know we've seen a lot of sunsets, but today's put them all to shame. If only things stayed like this." Axel didn't say anything.  
Suddenly, Roxas said, "What if we all four ran off?"  
"What?" Xion said, confused.  
"The four of us. Then we could always be together," I explained.  
"We don't have any place to run," Xion pointed out. Axel still didn't say anything.  
"We know. Heh, we were just thinking out loud," Roxas said. Finally, Axel spoke up.  
"Well, even if things change, we'll never be apart—" Axel started.  
"As long as we remember each other…right?" Xion finished. "Don't worry, Axel—we got your hokey speech memorized."  
"Just checking," Axel chuckled.  
"I'll have these moments memorized for a long time," Xion murmured. "Forever, I hope."  
"Us too. Forever," Roxas and I said in perfect synch. That night, we wrote in our journal about the afternoon we had all four shared. It read: "Us and Xion and Axel had ice cream. The sunset was beautiful. We don't have to write anything else down, because we'll never forget this day."  
The next day came rolling around, and we left for the main area and saw Xigbar, Xion, Axel, and Saix standing together in a conversation. We joined them, and Xion's hood was covering her face.  
"Now here's an unlikely trio. Me, Xigbar, and Xion?" Axel said.  
"Worried I'll slow you down?" Xigbar taunted.  
"'Course not. Touchy touchy…It's just not every day we get to go for a stroll with Number II himself," Axel replied. "Ain't that right, Xion?"  
"Yeah," she agreed.  
"Hey, you three teamed up for the day?" Roxas asked as we approached.  
"You have your own mission, Roxas and Night," Saix told us.  
"We can't trade with Xigbar or something?" my blonde friend asked, and I resisted the urge to smack my forehead and groan.  
"What and extraordinarily childish notion," the blunette replied. "Do you need Axel to walk you everywhere now?"  
"No…We didn't—never mind," Roxas tried to explain, but decided against it. Xigbar, Axel, and Xion left for their mission. When we left for our mission, I sighed, "Just us and the Heartless again today. Well, better get it done." Roxas nodded quietly. We went through with our mission, and departed to the corridor to RTC.  
"I wonder if Xion and the others are back yet," Roxas wondered aloud, and I shrugged. We RTC'd, and found Axel and Xigbar speaking with Saix.  
"Explain yourself, Axel," the blunette commanded.  
"I didn't let her go. The old man needs to get his eyes checked," Axel told him. "Besides, she wasn't taking no for an answer."  
"I'll give him that," Xigbar agreed. "Can't toss the blame around when I couldn't stop her either." We joined them then, and Saix gave us a cold look.  
"And now we're left with the one we can't use…" Saix said mysteriously, and left.  
"What was all that about?" Roxas asked. "And where's Xion?"  
"She flew the coop," Xigbar told us. "Flamsilocks here couldn't trouble himself enough to clip her wings." Axel was silent, without a single response. His body language read that of someone who has just been caught in the middle of a crime.  
"Axel, he's kidding, right?" Roxas asked, looking doubtful. Axel remained silent.  
"As if. Your friend sat there sucking his thumb while Xion walked right off…I'm going back to my room," Xigbar said, and left. We got closer to Axel, and I bared my fangs at him.  
"What happened out there?" I demanded.  
"Look, nothing," Axel tried to say.  
"Xion's gone! How is that nothing?!" Roxas yelled at him.  
"It's just like Xigbar said," Axel replied. "I couldn't stop her from going."  
"Don't give us that!" I snapped at him. "Why not?!"  
Axel folded his arms across his chest and said, "Roxas, Night…Xion is like a mirror that reflects you both."  
"What?" we said in confusion.  
"The Organization made her to duplicate your powers," Axel revealed. "She's a puppet."  
"Have you gone nuts? Xion's a person, not a puppet," Roxas argued.  
"She's smoke and mirrors, guys," he replied. "…And when I looked in the mirror, it wasn't either of you I saw."  
"We don't know what you're talking about," Roxas snapped at him, confused. "Xion is Xion. You can't expect her to be like us."  
"That's not what I mean, you two," the redhead tried to explain. "It was only a matter of time before someone had to break the mirror."  
"You mean destroy her," I growled. Axel looked away, and I could feel the shame coming off from him in waves. "Answer us!"  
"Roxas, Night, if somebody doesn't, you'll…neither of you will be you anymore," he said.  
"We'll always be ourselves! Your best friends, just like Xion!" Roxas and I yelled at him. Axel shook his head.  
"Guys, you're…you're not seeing the bigger picture. Any of it," Axel told us.  
"Ugh, forget this," we groaned, and turned and left.  
"Roxas, Night!" Axel called after us, trying to stop us, but we continued to leave. "Why can't either of you understand…?"  
That night, Roxas and I wrote down angrily in our journal, and it read: "Axel let Xion leave the Organization. Like he wanted her to go. She's a puppet? A mirror that reflects us? He's talking nonsense. We can't trust him anymore."  
The next day, Xemnas assembled all of us in the Round Room. "Xion has vanished again," Xemnas informed everyone.  
"Do we know where she is?" Xaldin asked.  
"'It's not 'she'. Xion is just a Replica…a puppet," Saix corrected.  
"Puppet? Someone made her?" Luxord said.  
"Puppets usually don't make themselves," the blunette pointed out.  
"The Replica program was one of our little pet projects," Xigbar explained.  
"Replica whatza?" Demyx said in bewilderment.  
"Perhaps you'd care to enlighten us about this 'pet project'," Xaldin said.  
"The goal was to duplicate the Keyblade and light wielders' memories, and through them, their powers—thus making them our own," Xemnas explained. "Vexen oversaw the project at Castle Oblivion. However, our efforts were severely derailed by his unexpected demise. And this particular Replica—the one we called Xion—came to form an identity of her own."  
"That caught us off guard," Saix added. "If anything like that ever happened before, no one at Castle Oblivion ever reported it. Did they, Axel?" Axel remained silent. I noticed his eyes glanced at us once, and then back to Xemnas.  
"Fortunately, the puppet has no means of dashing our plans now, even if she has learned to pull her own strings," Xemnas said. "Still, she knows our secrets. We need to shorten her leash…And perhaps tighten it."  
"You don't mean—" Roxas and I gasped. Xemnas ignored us and looked at Axel.  
"Axel," Xemnas said. Axel looked to him. "Seeing as how she escaped on your watch, the onus is on you to capture her and return her here. I am willing to overlook any nicks and scratches. Just ensure that she still functions on arrival." Xaldin shook his head slowly in disbelief.  
"Why you would allow a deserter back under our roof—she should be eradicated!" Xaldin said.  
"'Deserter' is hardly the term for a broken specimen who wandered out from under the microscope," Luxord corrected.  
"Axel, you have your orders," Xemnas said. "Dismissed." Xemnas left.  
"Bring her back? It's sheer madness…" Xaldin muttered, and left.  
"All this time, I've been talking to a puppet…Intense," Demyx said, and left as well.  
"So now we just sweep it all up?" Xigbar said. "Heh…As if." He left his chair.  
"If only the whispers at the top of the ladder reached the bottom rung," Luxord murmured, and he left, too.  
"Axel." Axel looked up at Saix. "Those orders were absolute." Axel left silently.  
"Still here, Roxas and Night?" Saix said. "Proceed with your mission."  
"Xion is one of us," we said, shaking our heads.  
"A puppet, one of us? Don't be absurd," Saix scoffed. "Count the seats. When have we ever been more than thirteen?" Saix left, leaving us all alone. Later, we ran into Axel in the main room, where he had just opened a dark corridor.  
"Axel!" Roxas said, and he stopped. "We don't think Xion's safe here anymore. You're not really gonna do what Xemnas says?"  
"I have to, or else I'm not safe here, either," Axel murmured.  
"Well…could you at least try not to hurt her this time?" I asked.  
"That's up to her," Axel replied. "Roxas, Night…Xion is dangerous."  
"Dangerous how?" we asked.  
"Have either of you gotten all your strength back?" Axel asked suddenly.  
"Not yet…How long have you known about her?" we said. Axel said nothing and looked away. "You knew all this time, and kept it from us?" Axel remained silent as he departed through the corridor. I growled under my breath as he left, and I'm sure he heard me. Roxas and I were given a mission to plant a device in Agrabah's Cave of Wonders, so we took the device there. Once we got there, we set the device up in the lamp chamber, and suddenly, Heartless appeared! What a surprise!  
"Heartless! They must be after the device," Roxas said, and we swiftly dispatched of them. Once finished, though, we were out of breath.  
"What are we doing? Getting worked up over some device. Like we've got any clue what the Organization even uses it for…Everything's a mystery. They didn't even tell us about Xion. Hmph, the biggest mysteries are us—the idiots who keep doing everything they're told," Roxas and I complained. We left the cave and returned to the corridor entrance. "Why are we doing this? Why are we going back to the castle? There's nothing there for us. How can we keep working for them if they're gonna leave us in the dark? What are we saying…This isn't about them, or Xion. It's about us. Whatever 'us' is," we chastised ourselves. We looked up at the stars of the night sky. "We feel like the only people who don't know. Have we got anything left? Any place we really belong? Any friends…we still belong with?" We struggled with our thoughts for a moment, and tears budded in the corners of our eyes. We scrubbed them away and pulled our hoods up, leaving for the castle.  
We woke in our room the next day, feeling angry at the world. "It's all just too much…" Roxas muttered, and I whimpered slightly. "Xion was part of that Replica Program. Made to copy my Keyblade and your light…And when she left us, Axel helped her. Like he wanted her to go. If he knew, why did he wait so long to tell us? Is it because we're the same thing? Xion, you, and I are all special Nobodies. What if they made us, too? Xemnas said…Sora and Shadow are what connects the three of us. But who're Sora and Shadow? Who are we to them? Axel knows." Roxas stood up, and I jumped onto his shoulder.  
"I'll bet he's been sitting on all kinds of secrets this whole time," I said. "He doesn't even have the guts to tell us the truth about ourselves…" We stormed off the main room to confront Axel, who was by himself, and leaning against the glass wall at the end of the room. We walked over to him for our confrontation. If we did this, there was no going back…

To Be Continued…

A/N: DUN DUN DUN! You all know what happens next, no surprise there! R&R, peeps!


	15. The End Is Near, Sorry, Axel & Xion

A/N: Final chapter, and then I'll post KH2 from Shadow and Night's POV's! Night first, and then Shadow! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Night and Kurai.

KH 358/2 Days, Night's Story

Chapter 15

The End Is Near…We're Sorry, Axel & Xion…

"Axel."  
"Hey, Roxas and Night," he said. We stood there in silence for a moment.  
"You find Xion yet?" I asked.  
"Like it's gonna be that easy," Axel responded.  
"We know…" Roxas murmured. Axel said nothing. "Have you been keeping the truth about her from us the whole time?"  
"…Not the whole time," he answered after a moment.  
"When did you find out?" I asked.  
"Oh, I dunno. Somewhere along the way," the redhead said.  
"Didn't get it memorized, huh?" we remarked bitterly. "Axel…Who are we, really?" Axel didn't say anything. "We're special, like Xion. We know that."  
Still no response.  
"But the Organization wanted us out of the picture," Roxas said.  
"Yeah…They did," Axel murmured.  
"Is it because Xion copied my Keyblade and Night's light and they didn't need us anymore?" Roxas asked. Axel continued to say nothing.  
"And you feel the same way," I stated coldly.  
"No, you've got that part wrong," Axel finally said. "You'll both always be my best friends."  
"Best friends are always honest with each other!" Roxas and I snapped at him quickly. "Who are we, Axel?" Axel looked away. "Xemnas said us and Xion are connected to Sora and Shadow. Who are they? Tell us! Are we puppets like Xion?"  
"No…"  
"What, then?"  
"You really think the truth is going to make either of you feel better?" Axel asked. "It won't."  
"What makes you so sure? We have a right to know who we are! How did we get here? Why are we special? Where did Roxas learn how to use the Keyblade, and me how to use light? We deserve those answers!" I yelled at him, my expression pained.  
"Roxas, Night…"  
"Are you gonna tell us or not?" we demanded, but our faces became saddened. "Axel…who are we?"  
"You've just gotta trust me, Roxas and Night," Axel murmured. He turned around so his back was facing to us.  
"We don't," Roxas and I said in unison, and turned to leave.  
"Hey, c'mon…" Axel said, sounding hurt.  
"If we can't get answers here, we'll get them somewhere else," we said. "Somebody knows where we came from. That'll be the person we trust." We left back to our room and pulled out the winning ice cream stick, looking at it.  
"We tried, but…there's nothing left for us here," Roxas said quietly, and I murmured agreement to my true friend. "The answers are out there." We made our way down the Castle That Never Was, and when we got to the first floor, we were intercepted by Saix.  
"We don't accept resignations," the blunette stated.  
"We've got nothing to say to you," Roxas and I said coldly.  
"Then let's keep this short and sweet," Saix sneered with a wicked smile. He summoned his claymore, and our battle ensued. We fought Saix hard, and beat him down with most of our power. Upon defeat, Saix kneeled on the ground.  
"Nngh…How much longer…" Saix growled. Roxas and I walked away, Roxas dispelling his Keyblade. "Kingdom…Hearts…Will your strength never be mine?"  
We made it down to the streets, where Axel was waiting for us, leaned against a wall. We passed him without saying a word.  
"Your minds are made up?" Axel asked calmly. We stopped.  
"Why did the Keyblade and light choose us? We have to know," we said. Axel shoved himself off the wall angrily.  
"You can't turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side, and they'll destroy you both!" he said angrily.  
"No one would miss us."  
"That's not true…I would," Axel mumbled as we walked away.

We made it to Twilight Town, and walked over to the Station, where the Clock Tower was.  
"The Clock Tower…I wonder if anybody's up there," Roxas murmured.  
"I guess we could go take a look," I suggested. We made our way to the top and sat there, thinking to ourselves.  
I looked at Roxas as he chuckled weakly and said, "Where did we think we could go? What a joke." I sighed, upset as we both lowered our heads, Roxas burying his head in his arms. Xion, with her hood on, entered and sat next to him. I gasped in shock as she sat down; she had scared me.  
"Xion!" Roxas gasped with a slight jump; she had startled him, too. She handed him an ice cream, and stroked my back. Roxas and I smiled softly at her kindness. "Thank you," we said. We all three sat quietly and watched the sunset.  
"Roxas, Night…I'm out of time," Xion said quietly. We looked at her as she got to her feet. She took her hood off, and Roxas and I had the same freaking reaction: our eyes widened and our jaws dropped. She had a half human/half dragon face, the human half being that of a boy similar to Roxas, and the dragon half being a black version of me.  
"Even if I'm not ready….I have to make this choice," she told us. "You've both poured so many memories into me…given me so much…that I feel like I'm about to overflow. Look at me, Roxas and Night. What do you see? If you see somebody else's faces…a boy and a dragon…then that means I'm almost ready. This puppet will have to play her part. Roxas, Night…this is them. It's Sora and Shadow." We were speechless, to say the least. Xion walked off into the air, remaining suspended. She pulled her hood back on and faced us.  
"You're next, Roxas and Night. I have to make you a part of me, too," she said, and I felt a chill run down my spine. She held out her hand as dark tendrils moved around her. "Don't you see? This was why I was created." The dark tendrils and smoke enveloped her, and she became some sort of armored being. She shot out her hand and caused the world to go black. We covered our faces until it cleared, but when we opened our eyes, we were in the Bizarre Room in Wonderland. We looked about and spotted on of the devices from before hovering above the table. Xion's armored form rose up from behind the device, and became wrapped in a silver glow. There was a flash, and she was stronger.  
"Now you'll see!" she yelled, and attacked us. We swiftly dodged her attacks, and used our own skills and weaponry to take her down. When she was beaten, she reverted back to her first form. She held up her hand and the world went black again. This time, when the darkness cleared, we were in a deserted area in Halloween Town. Another device had been planted here, too. Xion hovered near it, and became even stronger than before. We fought her, and we fought hard. We had to heal a lot, but we beat her. She reverted again, and she punched the ground, making the world go black again. This time, we were in the Lamp Chamber in Agrabah, and we saw the device we had planted. Xion hovered near it, and she was granted with four swords. We fought even harder against this third form, and defeated it, too. She slumped down, the darkness everywhere around us. Darkness surrounded her, and it flooded the room. We ran through the darkness to her unarmored form, but as we got close, the darkness pulled away, and we were standing on a barrier above Twilight Town. We turned, and saw a giant armored form of Xion standing before us!  
"Is that all you've got? Stop holding back! Get ready, Roxas and Night!" she yelled, and attacked. We had to fight the hardest fight of our lives here, and continuously dodged left and right, up and down, this way and that. We used our most powerful moves, like our limit breaks, and even my light magic came full force. Once beaten, Xion fell to her knees, the darkness wrapping around her. Something snapped in our minds, and we fell forward. The barrier weakened and shattered like glass, and we all three fell to the ground. Xion had returned to her original form. We held our heads while staggering towards this girl, and she remained on her knees.  
"Who are you…again?" Roxas groaned weakly. "It's weird. We feel like we're forgetting something really important."  
"You'll be…better off now….Roxas and Night," she mumbled, and fell over. Roxas and I caught her before she hit the ground. She started to crystallize, and we watched in horror.  
"Are we…the ones who did this to you?" we asked quietly, horrified.  
"No…it was my choice…to go away now," Xion told us. "Better that, than to do nothing…and let Xemnas have his way. I belong with Sora and Shadow. And now, I am going back…to be with them. Roxas, Night…" She placed her hand on ours and said, "I need you…to do me a favor. All those hearts that I've captured…Kingdom Hearts…set them free."  
"Kingdom Hearts…Free them?" we repeated quietly. Her legs began to crystallize, and we gasped in dismay.  
"It's too late…for me to undo my mistakes. But you can't let Xemnas…have Kingdom Hearts. You can't. Good-bye, Roxas and Night. See you again. I'm glad…I got to meet you both. Oh…and of course Axel, too. You're all three my best friends." She placed a hand on Roxas's cheek, and stroked my head. "Never forget. That's the truth." We continued to hold her as her eyes closed. Her hand dropped from my head, but Roxas caught it, scattering more memories.  
"No! Xion…who else will we have ice cream with?" Roxas pleaded her, but her body continued to crystallize, until her whole body was covered. She was bathed in a warm light until she was gone, and all that remained of her was a lone seashell. Roxas picked it up and we remembered sitting on the Clock Tower with her, and her smiling at us.  
"Xion." We whispered the name, and a single tear drop ran down each of our cheeks.

Axel was laying on his bed, his arms folded behind his head. "How did this happen?" he wondered aloud. He sat up and saw an envelope on his windowsill. He opened it up and took out the winning ice cream stick. He stood there, unmoving, and remembered his old friends.

We walked through the dark streets of the World That Never Was, and Roxas summoned two Keyblades to him. They turned into Oathkeeper and Oblivion, while I summoned all of my light to me, causing me to glow under my cloak. Our hoods were up as we stormed through the streets, and we made our way to Memory's Skyscraper. Once there, rain began to fall. Neoshadows began to appear where we walked, and Roxas struck his two Keyblades together, inviting them to attack. I roared to let them know I was a force to be reckoned with. The Neoshadows fell to our attacks, each one being taken down with a single blow. They continued to appear, and we looked up to see the impostors standing up at the top of the building. We leapt to the building, running up it, and striking down more Neoshadows as they tried to follow. Roxas threw the Oblivion to on of the impostors, and he caught it as he dove down with his companion. They fell down, and as they did, I saw flashes of memories of Xion go through their minds. Flashes of Xion injured on a bridge, and in their arms on the island. We passed each other over a large video screen on the building. Roxas and I reached the top of the skyscraper, and saw the impostors land on the ground. More Neoshadows emerged around them, but they clutched their heads from the pain of the memories. A Neoshadow lunged at him, but he managed to strike it down. Roxas and I leapt off the building and wordlessly helped the impostor fight off the Heartless. The darkness is dispelled, and the impostors' memories of Xion flickered. I yanked myself out of their minds as Roxas and I turned on the pair and leapt back.  
"Who are you?" Roxas and I demanded.  
"What does it matter? I'm here for you," the taller impostor replied.  
"Why are you trying to stop us?" we asked.  
"Because I want back the rest of Sora and Shadow's memories," the smaller one said calmly.  
"Sora Sora Sora! And Shadow Shadow Shadow! Enough about Sora and Shadow!" we shouted in frustration.  
"Do you have some kind of plan?" the first one asked.  
"We're going to set Kingdom Hearts free! Then everything can go back to the way it was Us, Axel, and…and her can go on having ice cream together," Roxas and I said, starting to lose steam. The tall one looked at Oblivion.  
"Her? You mean Xion? It's a struggle to just to remember the name now, isn't it? Either way, we can't let you go doing anything crazy," the smaller of the two told us.  
"We have to find this Sora and Shadow, and freeing Kingdom Hearts is the only way! We want Xion back! We want our lives back!" we yelled at him.  
"If either of you try to make contact with Kingdom Hearts, the last thing you'll get is your lives back," the impostor replied. "The Organization will destroy you both."  
"Shut up!" we screamed furiously, and lunged at them for battle. We clashed and fought, and Roxas and I summoned all of our power to us. I let a vicious roar rip through the ground, and it smashed our opponents. They were sent flying, and Roxas raced after the taller one, nailing him hard with the Keyblade. He smashed him repeatedly as I clawed and slashed at the smaller one, rage boiling my blood. Soon, they were defeated. After their defeat, we stood over them, and memories of us, Axel, and Xion sitting at the Clock Tower eating ice cream appeared in our minds.  
"Why?! Why do you have the Keyblade and light?" they demanded of us. Roxas glanced at the Oathkeeper, and I looked at my claws, but we shook it off.  
"Shut up!" we yelled at them again, and began to strike. The impostors knocked us back, sending us flying. They walked over to us, and slammed Oblivion into the ground. They gasped as we struggled to our feet, Roxas using the stuck Oblivion for support. Once on our feet, we attacked again. The taller of the two blasted a Dark Firaga spell at us, but we blew right through it, slashing at them, but they jumped away.  
"Why don't you quit?!" we demanded of them both. The pair thought for a moment.  
"Come on, Sora and Shadow, I thought you were stronger than that," they taunted.  
"Huh? Get real! Look which of us is winning!" we yelled at him, and then paused, surprised by the outburst. We wouldn't normally say that.  
"So it's true. You two really are their Nobodies," he remarked. "Guess DiZ was right after all."  
"What are you talking about?! I am me! Nobody else!" we shrieked at him in unison. Roxas summoned both Keyblades to him again, and I glowed even brighter from my rage. We struck again, missing the first blow, but got the second one dealt right into their arms. I heard a voice in the impostors' heads say, "Riku, Kurai, please! You have to stop them!"  
"How many times do we have to beat you?!" Roxas and I demanded. The impostors struggled to their feet, holding their injured arms.  
"All right. You've left me with no other choice," they said.  
"What?" we said, confused.  
"We have to release the power in our hearts—" They stood and took off their blindfolds, letting them fall to the ground. "The dark power we've been holding back. Even…if it changes us forever." The pair let out screams as dark pillars surrounded them. Roxas and I tensed, and he held his Keyblades at the ready. Once the pillars cleared, though, there was a white-haired man and his Guardian counterpart hovering before us, along with a slightly smaller, horned, demonic dragon floating beside him. Suddenly, they were in front of us, and the Guardian grabbed Roxas tightly, squeezing the air out of him. The dragon snatched me up with his claws, squeezing me tightly to the point where I couldn't breathe. Roxas dropped his Keyblades, and they clattered to the ground and vanished. I felt the warmth of my light draining from my body, and it eventually vanished.  
"We have accepted it," was the last thing we heard before everything went completely dark, and the world closed in on us.

We stood over Roxas's and Night's bodies, and the memories we had of Xion were fading. DiZ came over to us through a dark corridor. As he approached, we pulled our hoods up.  
"DiZ…they could feel Sora and Shadow," I told him.  
"Oh, they told you how they 'felt', did they? Ridiculous. Nobodies cannot feel anything," DiZ scoffed.  
"If only they had met Sora and Shadow, things may have been different," Riku said to himself.

We awoke in our bed in Twilight Town and sat up, realizing we'd had another weird dream.  
"Another dream about them," we murmured. We looked at each other, shrugged it off, and Roxas got dressed for the day. We opened up the windows and heard the bells from the Clock Tower ring in the distance. We watched the eternal sunset for a while, then headed out to meet with our friends.

As we ran through the streets of Twilight Town, Roxas panted, "Maybe…today we'll finally hit the beach!" I laughed with exhilaration as we ran, just too happy to respond as we sprinted to the Usual Spot.  
_Just seven days to go, and then our summer vacation is over_, we thought together as we ran.


End file.
